It Takes Two
by gymnast1454
Summary: Tony and Ziva are investigating a murder when they find a little girl and baby boy. They have to care for the two kids until the killer can be found because they are the loose ends (O.O) And are these two kids really siblings? Can Tony and Ziva take care of them? Or will past memories make it too difficult? Rated T for adult themes. KEEP TIVA ALIVE!
1. Chapter 1

**Alrighty! So I'm going to try to write a multi-chapter fic about Tony and Ziva. I have an unofficial Beta-Pocketrocket911- and she's great. Anyways... I'm busy so updating is hard but I will do my best! Enjoy!**

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo sat in traffic, anxiously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He watched the green block letters of the dashboard clock change to 0700. _Great_, he sighed sarcastically. He was still five miles away from NCIS and the traffic caused by the recently fallen snow was not going to get faster. It was the middle of January and the DC area had just gotten another eight inches of snow; which added to the grimy eleven they had received in the previous week.

Mossad officer Ziva David was in a similar situation. She was always on time for work and if Tony beat her there, she would never hear the end of it. He could be such a child sometimes. She could not understand why he always had to flaunt his scores with blonde bimbos. Her light turned green and she slammed on the accelerator. Her small car protested at first but gained traction and sped off toward NCIS.

Tony finally pulled into the Navy Yard and parked his car. He had made decent time considering that everyone seemed to be driving like an eighty year old. He opened the door and got out of the car, being cautious so as not to damage his door. He leaded back in and grabbed his coffee and backpack before closing the door. He crossed the parking lot right as Ziva sped in. Tony was taking a sip of coffee and didn't notice her. She slammed on the brakes and her car started sliding. By then Tony realized the dilemma and dove out of the way into a pile of brown slush.

Ziva got her car under control, threw it into park, and was at Tony's side before he could even think about getting up.

"Tony!" she gasped, kneeling by his slumped body. "Are you okay?"

He was lying face down on the pavement. His coffee cup was emptied a few feet away, its contents melting the snow.

"Yeah, Zee-vah…" he growled into the snow, stressing the syllables of her name, "Other than my partner almost killing me with her car!" he yelled. Tony rolled over so he was facing her but his eyes remained closed. His entire front was drenched with muddy water and god knows what else from the parking lot surface. "This is why McGee and I always tell you to drive carefully, so you don't kill people!" he said through clenched teeth.

He opened his eyes and almost felt bad for yelling at her because her brown eyes showed so much concern for him. They held each other's gaze until it became uncomfortable, then averted their eyes. If they had been in the bullpen with McGee, he would have made an excuse to go to Abby's lab or on a coffee run to give them privacy. Tony reverted to his jokes to lighten the mood.

"You know, I could get used to this view though…" he said, waggling his eyebrows while his eyes dropped to her chest, emphasized by her crouched stance.

"Pig." Ziva muttered and any concern that she had had for him vanished. She stood up and turned to leave, kicking slush at him as she walked away.

Tony shielded his face with his numb hands until he heard the car door open and knew it was safe to get up. He slowly rose to his feet and brushed himself off the best he could before heading towards the building. He figured Ziva would want to be alone after the awkward encounter they had just shared.

**NCIS**

McGee was the only one in the bullpen; he was about to call Gibbs when the elevator chimed and disheveled Tony walked in. He was wet and muddy and didn't look happy. McGee decided to take his chances.

"Hey Tony, rough morning?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it had been a bad idea. McGee immediately turned back to his computed and began typing again. Tony noticed that the brief confidence streak had disappeared into thin air. It was his time to strike.

"Did you say something Probie?" he asked after tossing his bag behind his desk and sauntering over to the younger agent.

"Uh… no. It's just that, well–" Gibbs chose that moment to walked into the bullpen. Tony grinned at McGee; he loved making the younger agent squirm. Ziva was fun to mess with but she was an assassin and her threats could become reality if he didn't tread lightly. McGee couldn't defend himself. He was, after all, the little Probie. Tony liked to think of his joshing as character building.

While Tony had been lost in his own thoughts, McGee had continued working. Tony looked up and noticed right as he received the all too familiar slap to the back of his head.

"DiNozzo, did you forget when work started? Or how to walk?" he asked upon noticing the agents soggy clothing.

"Well boss, McGee just asked me that question and–" He was interrupted by a second slap. The elevator chimed and Ziva stormed in. She set down her bag and started up her computer before unclipping her SIG Sauer and placing it into here desk drawer, which she slammed shut. She felt the three male team members' eyes on her. She looked up and narrowed her eyes at them.

"What is the matter? Have I grown another nose?" she asked suspiciously.

A small chuckle escaped Tony's mouth. "It's head Ziva, not nose."

"Whatever." She replied, returning her attention to her computer.

The agents sensed her caustic tone and decided they would be safe to leave her alone. They all settled in and began the day. Since there was no case, they finished up their seemingly never-ending piles of paperwork and sifted through cold cases looking for leads. Tony had gone to the bathroom and changed his wet clothes with the wrinkled spare set he reserved for occasions like this.

By 1030 hours, Tony was bored of paperwork and seemingly hopeless cold cases. Gibbs wasn't around, so he tried to entertain himself by computer games, which got old too. He began playing paper basket-toss in McGee's trashcan, missing on purpose to hit the younger agent in the head. Eventually, McGee couldn't ignore him any longer.

"Tony. Will you please stop that?" he asked, exasperated.

"Stop what McTarget?" he said, shooting another wad which banked off the desk and into the trashcan. "Ooooohhh!" He exclaimed as he threw his arms up and celebrated his 'perfect' shot.

McGee returned to ignoring him, knowing that he would only fuel the fire if he complained. Tony was so bored that he decided to move his game to Ziva's trashcan. He began his shots again, this time with obnoxious commentary. Then he challenged himself by spinning around and shooting backwards. Ziva used the opportunity to creep over to his desk, she squatted below the front of it and Tony turned back around. The look of sheer horror on Tony's face caused McGee to choke silently on laughs that were threatening to be made audible.

Tony slowly stood and walked around his desk. Right before he was far enough around to see her, she sprung up. Tony gasped and it took all of Ziva's self-control to keep her features stoic.

"Tony, would you like me to demonstrate how I can kill you with office supplies?" she warned, trying to ignore the fact that their faces were inches apart. I took all of her concentration to not let her gaze slip to his lips.

"No… I –" The partners were interrupted by dual head slaps. They both took steps back so they weren't invading each other's personal space.

"DiNozzo, gas the truck. McGee, call Ducky. Got a dead Navy Lieutenant." barked Gibbs as he strapped on his SIG and grabbed his coat before making his way to the elevator. The other three agents scrambled to gather their things and managed to slip into the elevator before it closed.

**NCIS**

They pulled up at the crime scene: a modest apartment complex called Autumn Oaks. Gibbs had arrived first in the Charger while Tony, McGee and Ziva arrived a few minutes later in the truck. He had already started getting information from the police when Tony and Ziva walked up, arguing with each other like usual. They quietly stood behind Gibbs, waiting for him to finish so he could tell them what to do. He finished getting the statement from the police man and turned to them.

"What do we got, boss?" asked Tony.

"Dead Lieutenant. Neighbor saw her on the fire escape. She must have been pushed out a window above. Name is Bethany Moore. Units are backed up so I want you and David to check out her apartment." He ordered. McGee had appeared midway through the description, carrying all of the gear. Gibbs looked at him, and then turned back toward the scene, calling over his shoulder for McGee to talk to the neighbor who found the body.

Tony and Ziva walked into the office and up to the counter. A little old man sat at the computer, pecking away at the keys. He apparently hadn't heard them come in.

"Excuse me sir." Ziva said politely, flashing her badge at him when he looked up.

"What can I do for you, dear?" he asked.

"We need to know if you have a tenant named Bethany Moore."

"Yes, of course, she is a very sweet young lady. " He crooned. Ziva realized that he wasn't aware of who the victim was and proceeded cautiously.

"We would like her room number please, so we can visit her. She's an old friend." Tony added.

"Sure thing." he pecked at the keys before turning back to them. "Room 416." He said, "But she had company late last night so she might still be asleep. Have a nice time you two." He grinned, giving them a wink.

Ziva was about to question him on whom the visitor was when Tony wrapped his arm around her waist and said a quick 'Thank you' over his shoulder before moving them to the elevators. He pressed the button and they opened a few seconds later and they walked in. As soon as the doors closed, Ziva twisted out of Tony's grasp.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "He has information!"

"I know Ziva, but he doesn't know that she's dead either. We can talk to him later because I'm sensing it will cause a commotion. He seems pretty attached to her."

"But he has seen the killer!" she said, clearly exasperated with him.

"_Might_ have seen the killer Ziva, _might_." He stressed, stepping out as the doors opened.

They walked down the hall until they reached apartment 416. The door was slightly ajar so the two agents quickly drew their guns out of their holsters. They made eye contact, silently arranging a plan. They had always been able to communicate without words. Ziva opened the door and Tony rushed inside. She followed closely behind him as they systematically cleared the main room, kitchen, and dining room. The apartment was trashed, broken lamps and knocked over furniture covered the floors. Blood had pooled on the carpet in front of the TV. Two halls branched off of the main room, one on either side. Tony started towards the one on the right, Ziva trailing behind. They cleared a closet and what appeared to be the master bedroom. The bed was unmade and clothes, both men's and women's, were scattered around the room. Ziva elbowed Tony once she noticed the lustful glance he gave the unmade bed. He snapped out of it and checked various hidden spaces while she cleared the bathroom. Then they heard a crash from the other side of the apartment. Their eyes whipped towards each other and Ziva tore out of the room towards the other hall. Tony followed, and noticed an upturned basket of kid's toys in the living room.

_Shit_. He thought. Hurrying into the first open door on the right where Ziva was standing. It was a small yellow room with a crib and changing table. A baby's room. Tony drew his breath sharply, expecting the worst, and walked into the room. He cautiously glanced at Ziva but her eyes were unreadable. He followed her gaze into the crib to see a small sleeping baby lying inside. He released his breath and turned to Ziva. Her body was tense and she refused to meet his eyes. Tony was about to touch her arm when they heard another noise. She raised her SIG again and they silently stalked into the adjacent room.

It was pink and had little dolls and stuffed animals all over the room. The blanket covering the small twin bed in the corner was rumpled. Ziva heard muffled breathing from inside the closet and silently stepped towards it. She looked over at Tony who gave her a curt nod. She pulled the door open and saw a small little girl with tangled blonde hair tucked into the corner of the room. Then Ziva did the unthinkable, she dropped her gun. Ziva David dropped her gun on the floor.

Tony was shocked; he couldn't get his feet to take the two steps over to her to make sure she was okay. He knew she wasn't; his always-calm partner never dropped her gun. He watched as Ziva shrunk to her knees.

"Shalom." said Ziva quietly. Her voice was trembling. Tony finally gained control of his actions again and holstered his gun, walking over to Ziva and kneeling next to her, close enough for their shoulders to brush. The little girl was shaking and he could feel a tremble escape Ziva's body every few seconds. She didn't seem like she was even in that room with them. No one said anything until Tony realized Ziva couldn't say anything and the little girl probably didn't understand Hebrew.

In the meantime, Ziva was having a war with her mind. The little girl was so much like the one she had encountered on Damocles.

_She had walked into a storage room to fins a tiny batter girl covered in filth. She walked over to her and reached towards her but she cowered further into the corner. _

"_Shalom." said Ziva. Then the door flung open and Ziva squeezed back in between two boxes. Two men walked in and grabbed the child. She began crying and one of the men slapped her. She quieted and they left as quickly as they had come. Ziva could not move. She was shocked. That little girl was going to die before her life even started. Just like Tali…_

"It means 'hello.'" Tony offered softly.

"The little girl gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, trying to push further into the dark corner of the closet.

"Sweetheart," Tony continued cautiously. "We are the good guys. You can trust us, we're here to help." He offered her a kind smile. Ziva hadn't moved a muscle yet. "Come on out, it's okay, I promise. We are from the Navy too." He added.

The little girl relaxed at that word and slowly crawled towards them. She sat in front of the closet and Tony noticed a nasty bruise on one of her cheeks. He reached towards her but she shrunk backwards. She was scared of him. He nudged Ziva and turned his head so his breath tickled her neck.

"Ziva, help me out." He whispered in her ear. She seemed to relax again and leaned closer to him for just a second like she was coming out of a trance before blinking her eyes and returning to an upright position.

"My name is Ziva. This is Tony. We are going to help you. Can you tell us your name?" She said, but her voice was still shaky and vulnerable. Not to others, but Tony could tell something was going on with Ziva.

The little girl gave Tony another weary glance before looking at Ziva. "Sadie." She said in a voice so quiet that Tony almost didn't catch it.

"Come out of the closet Sadie, it is okay. You are safe with us." said Ziva.

She little girl nodded before crawling out and staying as far away from Tony as possible. Her big blue eyes were red and puffy from crying and she looked exhausted. She got to Ziva and crawled onto her lap without hesitation, circling her arms around Ziva's neck and burying her face in her shoulder.

Ziva froze for a second before circling her arms around Sadie's trembling body. She blinked back her tears before turning to look at Tony, whose mouth was hanging open. He snapped it shut and rose to his feet, moving out of Ziva's way. She joined him, moving to stand slowly. Sadie's legs went around Ziva's waist.

Then Sadie began crying, which quickly turned into heart wrenching sobs. Ziva bounced on her feet, whispering soothing Hebrew words into her hair. Sadie only clung to Ziva tighter. Tony watched them very closely and caught Ziva's troubled brown eyes.

"Are you okay?" he mouthed. She nodded her head, trying to school her features into showing no emotion. Tony knew she wasn't fine but decided not to push.

Sadie's sobs eventually quieted into small whimpers. Ziva walked out of the room into the hall where Sadie's grip tightened even more. "Ginger." She mumbled into Ziva shoulder.

"What, _metuka_?" She asked. Sadie didn't seem to notice the Hebrew name.

"My doggie." She mumbled.

Then Ziva had another flashback.

_She was with Tali in her room. Tali was only 3, Ziva was 8. They were the only ones at home and Tali couldn't find her blanket. She cried until Ziva was able to find it under her sheets and give it to her. Blankie was her company… her friend…_

She went back into the bedroom and bumped into Tony. He stepped back and she went to Sadie's bed and looked around. One hand was holding Sadie, the other tossing the sheets.

"What are you looking for, Zi?" asked Tony carefully.

Ziva turned around and looked at him; something he didn't recognize glinted in her eyes. "Her stuffed dog."

Tony went to the closet and crouched down. He reached inside and returned with a small brown and white dog. It looked worn and tattered from constant use. He handed it to Ziva.

"Sadie, here is Ginger." She said, holding the stuffed animal close to Sadie's face. The little girl undid one of her arms from around Ziva's neck and held the dog between her and Ziva's chests.

"Thanks." Ziva managed to say as she went to the baby's room. Tony followed quietly.

"Sadie, is this your brother?" Tony asked gently from behind Ziva. Sadie didn't answer him.

"Sadie? What is his name?" asked Ziva.

"Chris." She said.

At the sound of his name, the little baby's eyes popped open. He surveyed the strange faces looking down at him and then began to cry.

"Uh-oh." said Tony, moving to the side of the crib next to Ziva.

"Pick him up Tony, he's probably hungry." said Ziva. Tony reached down to the squirming baby and gently lifted him out, cradling him carefully in his arms. The little baby smacked his lips and nuzzled Tony's chest. Not finding what he was looking for, Chris started screaming. Tony looked wide-eyed at Ziva, silently asking what to do.

"Give him to me." She said. "Sadie, can Tony hold you?"

"No. Only you." She mumbled, nuzzling further into Ziva grasp.

"I've got to hold Chris, _metuka_." she said, gently shifting Sadie to one hip.

"Mommy holds us at the same time." she said. Ziva's eyes met Tony's with a pained and sorrowful expression.

"Okay." said Ziva, moving to take Chris with one arm. They gently transferred the fussy child. When Ziva brown eyes met Tony's green ones, they froze, realizing once again that they were far too close together. Tony dropped her gaze and stepped back first. Ziva exhaled a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Then Chris began nuzzling Ziva and smacking his lips. She felt extremely uncomfortable, especially with Tony in the room. Chris was becoming increasingly angry about not getting to eat.

"Let's go see if he has a bottle in the kitchen, Ziva." She nodded and moved out of the room and started carefully down the hall. "Ziva, stop." Tony called, resting his hand on the shoulder that wasn't occupied by a child. "Don't go into the living room." he whispered, brushing past her. She remembered the destroyed living room and leaned back against the wall.

Tony jogged into the kitchen and found a bottle in the fridge. He ran back to Ziva and handed it to her.

"You have to warm it up." she said, giving it back to him.

"How long?"

"I do not know, until it is warm but not hot, check it on your wrist."

Tony went back to the kitchen and put the bottle in the microwave for 15 seconds. He tested it on his wrist like she said but it was still too cool. Another 15 seconds in the microwave made it the right temperature so he went back to Ziva.

"This alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, it should be fine. Can you feed him? It is hard since I ran out of hands." she said, stepping closer to him again to transfer the baby.

"Yeah. Can we go, though? It's making me uncomfortable, being here with them."

"Sure." Tony carefully positioned the baby in his arms and held the bottle to his lips, watching him suck hard. The little thing acted like he had never eaten. "Make sure you hold the bottle upright so he doesn't suck in air." said Ziva, moving past him and straight to the door. She made sure to press Sadie's face into her neck, shielding the girl's face from the wreckage in the living room. Tony followed, not shutting the door all the way, getting into the elevator next to Ziva. They rode down in silence other than a whimper from Sadie or the greedy eating habits of Chris.

"What took so long?" asked Gibbs, before he stopped and eyed them closely. "What the hell?"

"They were in Bethany's apartment Gibbs." said Tony. Chris finished his bottle and began fussing once again. "What? You just ate!" Tony asked the baby.

"He needs burped, DiNozzo." said Gibbs, lifting the baby out of Tony's arms and burping him. "So, what else?"

"Ziva." Tony nodded towards Sadie, then the truck, silently telling her to take the girl away.

"I am going to look for diapers in the truck." she said lamely, turning on her heels to leave.

Once she was out of ear shot, Tony continued. "Bethany was murdered in her apartment. It's a wreck. The man in the office said she had a visitor last night and doesn't appear to know she was killed. Sadie is extremely shaken up; I think she might have heard something."

"Sadie?"

"The little girl Ziva had. She has a big bruise on her face and won't let me anywhere near her, only Ziva. That little guy's name is Chris." he said, motioning to the baby that had fallen asleep in Gibbs arms.

"Alright, you and David take the kids back to the office and work from there. Ducky can check out Sadie when he gets back. One of you needs to go find a diaper back for him until we can get ahold of next of kin to take them." ordered Gibbs as he handed Chris back.

Tony found Ziva sitting in the back of the truck, still cradling Sadie, who had fallen asleep.

"She must be exhausted. I can't even imag –."

"What did Gibbs say?" she asked, cutting him off and lifting her gaze from Sadie's back.

"Um, find a diaper bag and go back to the office. Work from there on the case, Ducky will check out Sadie when he gets back." Tony relayed, trying not to show how much Ziva's brusqueness was affecting him. If she did notice, she didn't care.

"There was one inside his room on the changing table." she said, returning her gaze to Sadie's back. She hadn't stopped stroking the little girl's hair. "Grab some bottles from the fridge too."

"Okay." he said. He started off towards the building when Ziva called him back.

"Bring me Chris." she said. He obliged, handing her the baby which instinctively cuddled into her. Tony stared at them for a moment longer before hurrying to find the diaper bag and some bottles.

On his way back to the apartment, Tony saw McGee talking to an elderly woman.

"Young man, why do I have to answer your questions? I'm not under arrest." She told McGee.

"Uh...ma'am, please. We are only doing our jobs an – " she cut him off.

"I'm leaving. There is no reason for me to be treated like this." she said, walking away. "The nerve of some of the young people in this world…" she mumbled. McGee looked so confused; he couldn't understand what he had done wrong.

Tony continued to the apartment complex, chucking about McGee. He found the diaper bag and bottles and a baby seat, which he figured would come in handy. When he got back, Ziva was leaning against the Charger with the keys trying to convince Sadie to let go.

"Come on, _Tateleh_, let go. I am going to buckle you in and we are going to go to a nice place." she crooned, trying to loosen the little girl's grip while holding Chris too. Tony set the seat down at her feet and wordlessly took the keys and opened the trunk. He set the diaper back inside and returned to Ziva, taking Chris so she could focus on the sleepy child.

"I want mommy!" she cried. Ziva stiffened. How was she supposed to tell the little girl that she couldn't have her mommy?

"Mommy isn't here sweetie." Tony offered.

"_Where_ is she?" Sadie yawned, lifting her puffy eyes to Tony for the first time.

"Ummm. Just let go of Ziva so we can leave please." he said, avoiding the question all together.

"No." she said, holding tighter to Ziva.

Tony gave up and bent down to put Chris in the carrier. He was really proud of himself when he was able to strap the baby in by himself. He opened the back seat door and slid the seat in backwards like he had scene in movies. There were small picture instructions on the side of the seat so Tony was able to secure it inside. He finished and gently shut the door, turning back to Ziva. She was swaying back and forth trying to stop Sadie's crying.

"What's wrong?" mouthed Tony.

"Scared and tired." Ziva mouthed back.

"Hey Sadie, how about if you sit on Ziva's lap in the car?" asked Tony.

"Okay." she sniffed. Ziva walked around to the other side of the car with Tony. She let him open the back door for her as she eased inside, being extra careful not to bump Sadie.

"Seatbelt?" Tony asked.

"Just drive carefully." She answered, giving him a forced smile. Tony shut the door and got into the driver seat. He glanced back at Ziva. Sadie had resituated in her lap. Both of her small arms hugged the dog, she was sitting on her knees and leaning on Ziva's chest. Ziva had one arm keeping Sadie from sliding off and the other one rubbed her back. The little girls purple princess pajama shirt had ridden up in back and Tony saw another angry mark on her delicate skin. He sucked in a breath and turned around, trying to slow his breathing, and squeezing his eyes shut in anger. If her mom did this to her, it's a good thing she is dead.

_A little Tony sat in his room, reading Tom Sawyer when the door flung open. His dad looked extremely angry and stormed over to him. He ripped the book out of his hands and threw it at the wall behind him. _

"_What are you doing, boy?" he yelled, leaning towards his son. His breath smelled heavily of alcohol._

"_R-r-reading Sir." stuttered Tony. DiNozzo Senior grabbed his son and yanked him out of bed, dropping him on the floor._

"_Stand up!" He yelled. Tony obliged and rose, staring at his feet. "Look at me when I am talking to you!"_

_Tony blinked the tears out of his eyes and stared at the man who was supposed to be his father. _

"_Stop crying, you good-for-nothing son of a bitch. Be a man." He said, slapping his son in the face._

Tony had been 7 years old.

"Tony?" asked Ziva, she had seen her partner's reaction but she wasn't sure what happened.

"Forget it, Ziva." He said, putting the car in gear and driving toward the offices.

**Sooooo, What do you think? Do you like? Well let me know by pressing the little review button there, each review makes my day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyyyyyy WOnderful Readers! So I had this done on Thnksgiving but my Beta was in a no wi-fi zone so I'm basically blaming her! Love yah Pocketrocket911! Anyways! Enjoy! And if you have and suggestions or comments, let me know!REVIEW ;)**

Tony drove carefully on the slushy roads so he didn't jostle Sadie around too much. She had finally given into her body's pleas to get her to sleep. Tony could see her little body slumped against Ziva through the rearview mirror. Chris must have been asleep too because he hadn't made a sound. He pulled into the parking lot and parked his car. Things seemed so different than they had been just a few hours before.

He looked back at Ziva, who hadn't stopped rubbing Sadie's back. She eventually lifted her eyes to Tony's and for a brief moment, her walls lay in ruins. Tony saw happiness, sadness, regret, loneliness, and what he could now see as pain. That had been what he saw in her eyes when they were in Sadie's room. It wasn't physical pain, like a paper cut or a bullet wound, but it was a much more agonizing pain that comes from deep inside of a person whom has seen too much in their years. What pained Ziva about this case? Or Sadie? He knew he had to help Ziva. Relieve her from the pain, but he didn't know how. They were just partners. Sure they had dinner together and watched movies, but since Jeanne and then Michael, things weren't the same. Their partnership- no, their friendship lay in ruins.

As soon as he had read her eyes, they were blank again. How could she do that, conceal all emotion like the flip of a switch? Tony got out of the car and walked around to Ziva's side, opening the door for her and making sure she and Sadie got out okay. He got the diaper bag out of the trunk and got Chris's seat from the car. They silently walked inside and tried to ignore the judging stares they received, but people are people.

"Hey Zi, don't worry about them, okay?" he said gently testing the waters.

"I am not, Tony." She snapped, a little too loudly. Sadie stirred slightly, but readjusted her head and went back to sleep.

"Well, they don't know the whole story. So let them judge us if they want. But they're wrong." He said, as they stepped out of the elevator.

They got to the entrance of the bullpen and stopped. "What are we going to do with them Zi?" asked Tony.

"They are both sleeping so I suppose we let them sleep and do our jobs to find the killer." She said, moving around her desk. Tony shrugged and set the baby carrier next to his desk and sat down, looking over at Ziva. She was standing behind her desk, obviously trying to figure out where to put Sadie.

"Hey, I've got some blankets over here that you can lay her down on." Tony offered. He rose from his chair to retrieve the blankets, and walked over to Ziva. He laid them on the empty space behind her desk, then stood and met her eyes. She avoided his gazed and tried to untangle Sadie's arms from around her neck without dropping her.

"Tony…" she started. He moved closer to her and gently unwrapped Sadie's arms from Ziva's neck. She tried to keep herself from getting chills when Tony's hands brushed the back of her neck. He lifted Sadie out of her arms and laid her down on the blankets, then covering her with another one.

"Thanks." She said as he retreated to his desk.

"Anytime Zee-vah." He said, giving her a DiNozzo grin and stressing the syllables of her name.

Ziva rolled her eyes at him and the both sat down to begin researching Bethany Moore's background. Within a few minutes, they both looked up at each other, mouths open.

"This is bad." They said at the same time. Then they went back to work, fingers flying over their keyboards. Each new discovery was more confusing than the last one. Neither Sadie nor Chris stirred as they searched for information that might help their cause, not complicate it further.

Finally the elevator doors slid open and Gibbs walked in. He took one look at his agents' faces and knew that this case would be a hard one.

"What do you got?" he asked, continuing to his desk. Tony and Ziva both stood and walked to stand in front of his. They didn't say anything. He gave them a 'continue' glare and Tony spoke up.

"We have a problem, boss."

Gibbs sat down and the three of the just stared at each other. McGee walked in and paused when he noticed the silent agents having a stare off. The world seemed to stand still for a second and no one breathed.

"Will you two tell me what is going on!" he growled, standing up and leaning across his desk. With that, the silence was broken. Tony and Ziva walked to the plasma and McGee went to his desk. Tony fumbled with the plasma, trying to get it to work and Gibbs was getting more and more frustrated. McGee stepped in and turned it on, revealing Christopher Moore's military file.

"Christopher Moore is Bethany's husband. He was a Naval Petty Officer and –"Tony was interrupted by Gibbs.

"He was murdered in their house. It's an NCIS cold case." finished Gibbs. He knew the name Moore was familiar.

"Yeah." He said slowly. "Gruesome murder, multiple stab wounds, every lead was a dead end."

Ziva looked over at McGee who flipped the picture. It was a mug shot of a man who resembled Christopher. "Shortly after Christopher died his brother, Dylan Moore, was sent to prison. He was released 10 days ago."

"What was he in for?" asked Gibbs.

"Drugs. He was part of a major drug cartel in Chicago, IL. He owes the wrong people a lot of money. Probably went to his brother's wife to get money, probably killed her when things didn't go as planned. " answered Tony.

"That gives him motive and opportunity."

"The Moore's do not have any living relatives other that Dylan. Their wills do not list anyone that should gain custody of their children. Dylan was last seen in Pennsylvania stealing a car. He ditched it a couple miles later and has not been seen since." added Ziva.

"Did they find anything useful at the crime scene?" asked Tony, glancing at the sleeping children. "It looked sloppy."

"That's the weird part. We didn't find much of anything there. I would guess a professional did it. But Dylan seems like the most likely suspect." said McGee.

Gibbs got up and left the bullpen, heading towards the elevator.

"Where are you going boss?" called Tony.

"I need coffee."

Tony turned back to Ziva and McGee. "We need to find Dylan." He said.

"Ziba?" mumbled a sleepy voice. They all turned to see Sadie sitting up in her makeshift bed, rubbing her eyes.

Ziva went over to her with Tony right behind. "Did you have a nice nap?" She asked softly, kneeling by Sadie.

The little girl shook her head. "Why?" asked Tony, "Did we wake you up?"

She shook her head again. "Bad dream." She reached for Ziva who gently grabbed under her arms and picked her up. As she stood, she felt Tony's hand graze her lower back but she chose to ignore it. Sadie yawned again and laid her head on Ziva's shoulder.

"We should have Ducky check her out." Tony said into her ear.

Ziva turned to McGee. "Is Ducky here yet?"

"Umm, yeah. I think he and Jimmy got here before we did."

Ziva looked at Tony, and then moved towards the back elevator. Tony grabbed Chris and the diaper bag and caught up to her. They rode down to autopsy silently. When the doors slid open, Tony motioned for Ziva to wait outside. She stayed on the back wall outside of the elevator while Tony walked in.

"Ducky?" He called to the empty room.

"Anthony?" asked Ducky as he strolled out of the walk-in freezer. "Ahhh, Anthony. What can I do for… Who is this?" He asked, taking the carrier and setting it on one of the tables.

"That is Chris, and hold on just a second Ducky." Tony walked to the doors and motioned for Ziva to come in. "We found these two at the crime scene. We need you to check them out and make sure they are okay."

"Of course. I'll start with her first if you don't mind, so little Chris can sleep longer."

Ziva nodded and moved to set Sadie down on the table across from Chris, but she wouldn't let go. "Sadie, this nice man needs to make sure you are alright. I will be right here. Can you sit on the table by yourself?"

As predicted, she shook her head and clung tighter to Ziva. She looked over at Tony and Ducky, her eyes were conflicted with emotions. Ducky walked over and started talking to her.

"Well, you are quite the little beauty aren't you? You remind me of a young lass I once knew. She looked a lot like you. Her name was Carrie and she was the best singer." As Ducky talked, he gently ran his hands over her arms and legs, checking for serious cuts, the entire time keeping eye contact with her. "What is your name? My name is Donald Mallard, but you can call me Ducky. Everyone does."

"Sadie. And Ducky is a funny name." she said, uncurling from Ziva a little.

"I hope we can be friends then my dear. You are a very lovely young lady." He said, giving her a smile.

Sadie giggled for the first time since Tony and Ziva had found her.

"Can you sit on the table?" asked Ducky.

She hesitated a moment before nodding her head. Ziva sat her down and went to stand next to Tony.

"Ziva has to sit with me." She said. Ziva turned around and looked at Ducky. He motioned for her to come and sit with the little girl. She went over and sat next to her. Tony moved closer to stand by Ziva.

"Let's start with this. Does anything hurt?" asked Ducky. He went to the sink and wet a paper towel with warm water.

"My cheek and back and arm." She said as Ducky gently wiped her face, making the bruise on her cheek more visible. Ziva saw Tony stiffen out of the corner of her eye. That must have been what happened in the car.

"Oh my dear!" he exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Some bad man hit me really hard." She said so innocently that Tony and Ziva both looked at each other. The pain was evident in each other's eyes, but she notice a bit of relief from Tony. That was peculiar… Ziva would have to figure out what Tony was seeing in Sadie.

"Did he hit you anywhere else?"

Sadie nodded, looking over at Ziva. She was desperately trying to control her emotions but she managed to give Sadie a warm smile.

"Where?" asked Ducky.

"On my back." She said. Tony sucked in his breath.

"I'm going to go get some food." said Tony, quickly leaving before Ziva could protest. Something was going on with Tony. It was almost as if this case was bringing back memories for him like it was for her.

"Let's take off your shirt so I can take a look." said Ducky. He looked at Ziva and she stood up and pulled Sadie's shirt over her head.

Ziva glanced at the little girls back and saw multiple purple and blue spots on her back, the largest by her right hip. Ziva sucked in her breath much like Tony had done.

"My, my darling, you must be a very brave girl. Why did he hit you?" asked Ducky as he gently got her to lie down on the stomach. There were about four bruises; thankfully none of them looked like they caused internal damage.

"He said that I was a bad girl because my mommy and daddy were bad people. Am I a bad girl?" She asked, mostly to Ziva.

"No, _tateleh_, you are not a bad girl." said Ziva, stroking her hair.

"Were mommy and daddy bad?"

Ziva paused. What should she say? Why wasn't Tony here right now? He was so much better at this. Ducky noticed that Ziva's eyes had gone unfocused and her brow furrowed in thought.

"We are going to find out Sadie, but they were good people. The mean man lied to you." said Ducky. Ziva relaxed, grateful that he had answered for her. "Okay, let's sit up now and look at your arm." He helped her sit up and she held out her arm. There was a needle puncture right where her arm bends. Ziva and Ducky's faces paled.

"Do you feel alright?" asked Ziva.

Sadie shook her head. My tummy hurts and my head." She said.

Ducky turned to Ziva, "We need a blood test right now for both of them. This is very bad. How long has the baby been asleep?" he whispered in her ear.

"Since we got here. Is that normal? What's happening?" she asked as he quickly crossed the room to Chris.

The little boy's breathing was shallow and his eyes were unresponsive when they opened. "Ziva, call Abby. Now." Ducky ordered.

"What's wrong?" Ziva asked again, started to panic, moving to Ducky.

"Call Abby!" he yelled.

"Ziva! What's wrong? Ziva!" called Sadie as she stared sobbing.

"Nothing, _Tateleh_, it's okay." She said, picking her up and moving to the video phone at Ducky's desk. She pulled up Abby's lab.

"Hey!" said Abby, the bubbly Goth's smile quickly dropped when she saw Ziva's worried expression. "What happened?"

"Ducky said you need to come up here now." said Ziva, her voice obviously shaking. She disconnected the call with Abby and grabbed her phone. Sadie was still whimpering. She pressed speed-dial 2 and a familiar voice picked up after the first ring.

"DiNozzo."

"Tony. Something is wrong." She said, she didn't even try to calm her voice; Tony would be able to tell anyways.

"What happened, Ziva?" anxiety was clear in his voice.

"Just-just come back okay." She hung up and went back to Ducky. He had undressed Chris except for his diaper and was checking his pulse and heartbeat. He pulled out a needle and found a vein, taking a sample from Chris.

"Chris?" whined Sadie.

"Shhhh," Said Ziva, bouncing up and down to calm her.

"Ziva, I need a sample from her."

Ziva set Sadie down, "Sadie, he needs to take some blood to make sure you are okay, it that alright? Please?"

Sadie nodded numbly, which surprised Ziva. Ducky took some blood from her other arm just as Abby rushed in.

"Abigail, I need you to check these for toxins quickly." He shoved the vials towards her and she gave Ziva a 'tell me what's happening' look as she ran back to her lab. Ziva just ignored her and focused on Sadie.

"How did you get this?" she asked, motioning to Sadie's arm.

"Like how Ducky just did. But he didn't take anything." She said, yawning.

"Are you sleepy?" She nodded. "Ducky, she's sleepy."

"Make sure she stay's awake." He said without looking up from Chris.

At that moment, Tony ran in, heading straight for Ziva. He grabbed her arms and turned her towards him. "What's happening?" he asked, the takeout had been dropped by the door. Ziva was frozen in another memory.

_Somebody knocked at the door._

_Ziva got up and walked to the door, opening it a crack to peek out. That's what her parents had told her to do. She was 13. An Israeli policeman was at the door. _

"_Are your parent's home?"_

"_No. Whatever you have to say, you can say to me."_

"_Do you know a Tali David?" Ziva's heart turned to stone and dropped._

"_Yes, she's my sister."_

"_I am sorry to inform you, but she was killed at 1000 today."_

"_What happened?" Ziva yelled, taking the man by surprise._

"_Roadside bombing. I am very sorry for your loss." He walked away and Ziva shut the door and shrunk to the ground, curling in a ball and letting sobs overtake her. How could Tali be gone? First her mother, then Tali, who next?_

"Ziva, Ziva. Hey, ZIVA!" She blinked a few times and realized that Tony had been yelling her name. She shook her head and looked up at him. He was still holding her arms, but tighter now. Sadie started whimpering and Tony dropped her arms. She turned to Sadie and hugged her to her side, shushing her. "Zi?"

She looked up at him, blinking back tears in her eyes, it broke his heart. "He injected them with something, Chris is unconscious. Abby is running blood tests now. Someone wants them dead." She choked out. Tony wrapped an arm around her without thinking and tugged her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, trying to compose herself.

Gibbs walked in and saw Ducky leaning over a small baby and his two agents…hugging? Yes, hugging.

"Hey Duck, what's up?" he watched Tony and Ziva jerk apart from each other.

"They were poisoned. Abby's running a tox-screen now." He said. Gibbs gave his two agents a glare and then walked out of autopsy. He got on the elevator and hit the button that went to Abby's lab. When he got off, the music was off and Abby was staring at the computer screen.

"Hey Abs, what do you got?" he asked, setting a Caf-Pow next to her that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Gibbs!" she said, brightening slightly and giving him a hug. Gibbs grinned at her while she hugged him. _Typical Abby_, he thought. She let go and stepped back. "What's happening? Something is hinky."

"We have a new case."

"Obviously!" she yelled. "Ziva has two kids with her and Tony is not with her and- and- and…"

"Abs! We need you to do your job; the kids were poisoned. You have to help them." He said gently, turning her back around. Just then the computer dinged. "Is that a match?"

Abby began typing frantically on her keys. "Yeah, it's arsenic trioxide."

"Is that fixable?"

"As long as they haven't had too much, we have to get them on antibiotics; I bet Ducky has them in his lab. He probably dissolved the powder in water and injected it into them." She said, running out of the lab to get to Ducky's.

She took the stairs and got there as fast as she could in her platform boots.

"Ducky! It's arsenic trioxide!"

"Oh dear." He said, moving towards the refrigerated cabinet and pulling out a bottle, then getting two more needles. Tony and Ziva shared a worried look. He pulled the right dosage into each needle and gave one to Chris. Then he moved to Sadie. She was very pale and trying so hard to stay awake.

"Sadie, this will make you feel better." said Ziva. She nodded and Ducky gave her the shot.

"What now?" asked Tony.

"Well, that's it. We hope it works." Ducky moved to the sink and washed his hands.

"Do we take them to the emergency room?" asked Ziva. She picked Sadie up and bounced her gently, trying to keep her from sleeping.

"No, they won't be able to do anything else. Just take them home. They can sleep but need to be woken up every hour. If they aren't responsive or start throwing up, take them to Bethesda immediately. Get them to eat if you can."

"I think we should go to Bethesda now." said Ziva stubbornly.

"It would be a waste of time and money. It is late, 2100 actually. Go home." said Gibbs, walking into autopsy. Ziva glared at him then slipped Sadie's shirt back on. She picked her up and walked towards the door. "DiNozzo is going with you."

Ziva scowled but continued walking. Ducky put the baby's onesie on him and strapped him into the car seat and handed it to Tony. He shouldered the diaper bag and followed after Ziva.

She was waiting by the elevator when he came out and they got on together.

Tony's stomach grumbled and Ziva gave him a look. Tony was grateful something broke the awkward silence.

"What? I haven't eaten since this morning." He whined. Ziva couldn't help but smile. She would never admit it but Tony always made her feel better. Tony saw the smile on her face and it made him smile too. He already knew this would be a stressful and sleepless night.

The elevator doors slid open and they walked into the bullpen. McGee looked up, surprised by the comfortable silence that was present. The partners wordlessly gathered their things.

"Bye, McGee." said Ziva as they walked to the elevator. He just nodded, at a loss of words by how the agents were acting.

Gibbs entered the bullpen and grabbed his things. "Go home, McGee."

Tim must have looked very confused. "This will be a tough one; you are no use to me if you are tired so go home and be ready tomorrow."

"Uhh, yes boss." Said McGee, surprised by home many words Gibbs had strung together.

McGee was the last one to leave; somehow Gibbs had managed to leave before him, probably going to work on his boat. Abby and Ducky were still there; they never seemed to leave. He packed up his things and drove home, thinking about the case the entire time, wondering what was going on with his co-workers.

**BUMMMM BUMMMM BUUUMMMMMMMMM. Will they be okay? I'll try and write soon, going back to school so... it might be difficult to update soon... REVIEWS MAKE MY DAY!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heyyy faithful readers! How are you all! Sorry it has taken so long to update but it has been a long week! Enjoy as always!**

Tony found himself driving on the treacherous road once again. The snow had started up again and it was swirling gently around in the dark air. He looked back at Ziva who was in the back seat with Sadie sleeping soundly on her lap, much like she had been on their ride to NCIS earlier that day.

Ziva was upset the Gibbs had ordered Tony to stay with her; she also had to leave her car at NCIS. She could take care of the children perfectly fine by herself. She didn't need Tony's help. She would have to take care of him too, since he acted like a child all the time; even though he had acted quite adult-like during their movie nights so long ago. Wow, that was when Gibbs had gone on his vacation/retirement to Mexico, she thought to herself.

"Ziva, where are we going?" asked Tony quietly from the driver seat.

"What do you mean?" Ziva was really confused. They were going home, not Bethesda –

"Your place or mine?" he asked, cutting off her thoughts.

It was a good thing it was dark so Tony couldn't see the light blush creep onto Ziva's face. She hadn't even thought of that dilemma. She figured they were just going home. Ziva shook her head lightly; she needed to keep her head straight.

"Your apartment has two beds, but do you have any food?" she asked, refocusing on the issue. "It is also closer to Bethesda."

"I have pasta. And it is closer to Bethesda, but not by much. Do you want me to swing by your place so you can grab some things?"

"No, it is fine. I have clothes in my bag for emergencies, they will work."

"Emergencies?" teased Tony. Ziva could judge the look on his face by the tone of his voice.

"Yes, all kinds of emergencies." She sneered, emphasizing the last word and flashing a grin at him through the rearview mirror. "Actually, I would like to stop by my place to get some other things."

Tony dropped the conversation at that; he was tired from the interesting day they had had today and didn't feel like using any energy to formulate a comeback. Not to mention the night they would have, waking up the kids every hour and making them eat.

They got to Ziva's house and Tony parked in her spot. He hopped out like he had done many times that day and opened the door for Ziva. She looked up at him, her eyes asking for help up. They didn't want to wake up the little girl for fear that she wouldn't want to sleep again, which was all she needed to do. Therefore Ziva couldn't get out of the car by herself. Tony looked at her for a moment, surprised that she was asking for his help. Ziva undid her seatbelt, which was between her and Sadie. Tony gently pulled it out from in between them while Ziva moved Sadie away from her chest slightly. Ziva turned so her feet were on the pavement but she couldn't stand up because it would jostle Sadie too much. Tony bent down and reached for her waist, but paused, waiting for permission. Ziva scowled at him and then smiled. Tony continued, putting his left hand on her hip and his right on her middle back. He gently pulled her towards him, being careful not to bump her head. Their eyes were locked the entire time and he was surprised to find that she was putting all her weight in his hands. She really did trust him. When Ziva was fully upright, she didn't move from her position in front of him immediately. She continued staring into his eyes. Tony knew she was trying to read him, but his walls were up and not even her gaze could break them down.

Once she stepped back and walked to the stairs, Tony felt the loss of her presence. He snapped out of the trance she had unknowingly put him in and peeked in at Chris. The baby was breathing normally and looked very content, so Tony grabbed the keys, gently shut the door and locked the car. He ran the familiar path to her apartment, catching up to her as she was walking towards the door. They stopped in front of the door and Ziva fumbled around for her keys. Tony squeezed his way between her and the door, using the spare key she had given him so many years ago to unlock it.

"I forgot I gave that to you." She said, a little taken aback by Tony having a key to her apartment.

"What else would I do with it? It's for emergencies." He said stressing the last word like Ziva had done. She smirked at him and pushed past him, Sadie was still wrapped around her small frame.

"I still have your key too." She admitted before disappearing into her room. Tony followed, hesitating at the doorway before entering. He hadn't been in her new apartment many times and had never been in her bedroom before.

"Do you want me to hold Sadie so you can get your things?" offered Tony.

"You can try if you can unlock her from me."

"I think you mean unhook, but unlock works too." He corrected, walking over to her. He reached around Ziva's neck and undid Sadie's hands. He reached between them and held Sadie by her armpits while he gently pulled her to his chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he balanced her on his hip, giving Ziva a big grin. She smiled back and then moved away from him. She hated to admit it but it was hard to be that close to Tony for a long period of time.

Ziva gathered various things like her toothbrush, clothes for work the next day, and another book. She figured that she wouldn't be sleeping so reading a book was the next best thing. She left her bedroom and saw Tony sitting on the couch, rubbing Sadie's back like she had done in the car. Ziva bit back a smile when he noticed her staring.

"Ready Freddie?" asked Tony, standing from the couch and moving towards the door.

"My name is not Freddie." She said, confused by his statement, but following him to the door anyways.

"It's a saying Zee-vah."

"I do not understand. It is from a movie yes?" She said, locking the door behind them as they returned to the car.

"It's from a song by Queen." said Tony. "You know, Queen is a British rock band –"

"I do not care. Just get in the car Tony." exclaimed Ziva, clearly exasperated by the never ending trivia.

"Wait, you're driving?" yelled Tony. Ziva glared daggers at him and he remembered the sleeping child on his shoulder. "I want to live!" He said, lowering his voice to a hushed whisper.

"I will be careful. I do know how to drive safely; it is just more efficient to go fast." She said, pulling open the door for him.

"More efficient for ending up in a body bag." He mumbled, carefully maneuvering himself into the back seat.

Ziva shut his door and got into the front seat, warming up the car. Tony glanced at Chris, who hadn't moved since they left other than a slight smile that graced is face, causing Tony to smile. Ziva saw the exchange but kept to herself, putting the car in gear and obeying all the traffic laws on the way to Tony's apartment.

They arrived safely in double the time it would have taken Ziva had she drove her way. She parked in his spot and got out, then opened the door for Tony.

"How long has she been asleep?" asked Tony, glancing at Sadie.

"Almost an hour. We can probably wake her up now." Ziva said, bending down so her face was level with Tony's.

"Sadie, Saaadiie. Rise and glow." cooed Ziva as she rubbed the little girl's back.

"Shine Ziva, it's rise and shine." said Tony automatically. Ziva ignored his correction and continued talking to Sadie as she slowly woke up. At first, she nuzzled further into Tony, trying to go back to sleep. Once she became more aware of where she was and who's broad chest she was snuggled up against, Sadie froze. Tony and Ziva noticed the change, the girl's back went rigid and she sat up. Her eyes were the size of saucers.

"Sadie, it's alright." cooed Tony. He reached his hand up to brush a lock of hair out of her face but she flinched away.

"ZIVAAAA!" she screamed. The floodgates opened and she started sobbing, desperately trying to claw away from Tony to find Ziva.

Tony was almost as frightened as Sadie; he didn't move his hands from her side when she tried to get away. He held her there which only made the situation worse.

"Tateleh, shhh, it is okay. It is Tony and me." said Ziva, reaching for the sobbing child. Tony let her go into Ziva's arms. She rocked back and forth, rubbing Sadie's trembling body.

Her heart broke for the little girl. It was how Ziva felt whenever a nightmare woke her up, which was still two or three times a week. Afterwards, she couldn't fall asleep again so she would go for an impossibly long run to try and leave the demons in the dust. But they always seemed to find her when her walls were down and she couldn't hide from them.

Tony hadn't moved at all, his hands were still raised to where they had been holding Sadie's waist. He felt like a monster but he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. By this point, Chris began crying from the rude awakening by his sister.

"Tony, she is okay. It is not your fault. Get Chris and let us get her inside. It is cold." Ziva called over Sadie's sobs.

He looked over at numbly. Their eyes met and she gave him a reassuring smile before he had the will power to move again. He gathered the diaper bag and Ziva's bag before getting Chris and following her to his apartment.

She opened the door with the spare key she had and walked in first. Luckily his apartment was in decent condition. The kitchen had multiple take-out boxes and beer bottles scattered around, all empty. Cooking for one person wasn't his forte, he always over made and the leftovers rotted in the fridge. Ziva ignored the clutter and moved straight to the couch, sitting down with Sadie straddling her lap. She still hadn't stopped screaming and Chris's wails joined hers to make the perfect misery ensemble. Ziva gently pulled her to her chest and rubbed circles on her back, whispering soothing words into her ear.

Tony set the diaper bag on a bar stool and brought Chris into the living room. He set the car seat on the coffee table and unstrapped the fussy baby. He bounced up and down, quietly speaking gibberish to the baby but nothing helped. He caught Ziva's eye and mouthed "Help me!" to her.

"Bottle." she mouthed back. Tony went back to the kitchen and dug a bottle and formula out of the bag. He read the instructions and added water like it said before mixing in some powder. He put the lid on and shook it up, then microwaved it to heat it up.

"You must be hungry, little man." said Tony. "Little Man should be your nickname!" Chris fussed impatiently but at least the ear piercing wails had stopped from both children. "Okay, okay, be patient, I'm going." Said Tony and he hurried back to the living room and settled in an arm chair. He held Chris in his left arm, cradling him against his chest before raising the bottle to the baby's pursed lips. Chris ate greedily and Ziva suppressed a laugh when she saw the goofy grin on Tony's face. She was glad he was here; two children would be an armful to handle by herself. Tony really was great with kids as long as he didn't try too hard to make them like him.

"Ziva?" whispered a small shaky voice, bringing Ziva out of her thoughts.

"What is it? You are hungry yes?" asked Ziva, returning her full attention to Sadie. Her brow furrowed at Ziva's sentence structure before nodding her head. "What do you want?"

"I don't know." She mumbled, laying her head on Ziva's chest again.

"What about pasta?" asked Ziva, remembering that Tony said he had pasta. Of course her did, he was Italian. She looked down at Sadie, who wore a confused expression. "Oh, ah… noodles?" she asked, trying another word.

"Yea. I like noodles." Ziva looked over at Tony, but he wasn't listening to their conversation, his eyes were fixed on Chris. Ziva left him alone and took Sadie to the kitchen and set her on the counter after moving a stack of pizza boxes out of the way.

"Do not fall." ordered Ziva. The little girl had gone through enough today, a broken arm would be terrible to top it all off with. Sadie nodded and sat contently while Ziva stacked all of the take-out boxes and moved them to the floor under the bar area. She put all of the beer bottles into a plastic bag from a Chinese restaurant and set it with the rest of the trash. Ziva searched through a few drawers before pulling out a ragged dishcloth and wiping the counters clean.

"All clean." said Ziva, turning to Sadie. "Now we find the noodles." She gave Sadie a mischievous grin before starting her search for pasta. In the meantime, Tony had finished feeding Chris. He was surprised that Ziva was not on the couch but she had ninja stealth after all. He heard cabinets and drawers opening and closing in the kitchen. He sauntered into the kitchen and stood behind the bar stools, silently setting the bottle on the raised counter top. Ziva closed yet another cabinet before turning back to Sadie and then she saw Tony behind the counter watching her.

"Where is the pasta?" she said, glaring at him even though it wasn't his fault that she couldn't remember where is kept.

"The cabinet above the microwave."

"Oh…" she mumbled standing on her tippy toes to reach the high cabinet and retrieve a box of bowtie pasta. She got a pot from the cabinet next to the oven and filled it halfway with water. She put it on the stove and turned back to Tony and Sadie while she waited for the water to boil.

Chris started fussing again, squirming around in Tony's arms. "What, you just ate!" exclaimed Tony, looking to Ziva for help.

"Dirty diaper?" Tony went into the kitchen and held Chris up to Ziva with his backside in her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to peek at Tony around the baby.

"You check." Upton getting a more confused look from Ziva, Tony tried to help her understand. "You are supposed to smell his diaper and see if it smells bad. It's a mo – woman thing to do." Tony caught himself right before he finished saying mom. That could have caused a very awkward moment; it seemed like the kind of thing Ziva might take offense to. She didn't seem to notice because she sniffed Chris anyways.

"He does not smell funny… Wait, did you burp him?"

"Oh, nope." He said, maneuvering Chris onto his shoulder like Gibbs had done.

"You might want a burp cloth on your shoulder in case he spits up. There is one in his bag."

"Thanks, don't want to ruin my nice shirt right, Little Man?" he murmured to Chris while getting out a burp rag. And draping it over his shoulder before gently patting the baby's back. Ziva couldn't help but stare at them, he was so domestic. He let out a small burp a few moments later.

"Is that all or do I keep patting him?" asked Tony.

"No, he is good. But his diaper will need changed soon. You get to do that." she teased, smirking at him. "It should be his job, correct Sadie?" she said, moving her gaze back to the counter, but the little girl was gone. Ziva froze and looked around the kitchen. "Sadie?" she called then listened carefully. She didn't hear anything. Tony put a hand on her shoulder and Ziva almost jumped out of her skin.

"Zi, what's wrong?" asked Tony, his voice was full of concern. She never got surprised and jumped like that.

"SADIE! Where are you?" she yelled, dashing off to the living room, then into the guest room and Tony's room before she heard a noise. "Sadie?"

Ziva walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light. She listened again and heard faint gasps coming from the shower. She pulled back the curtain to reveal Sadie, huddled up in the corner hugging her little knees to her heaving chest.

"Sadie, _ahuvi_, what is the matter?" asked Ziva as she sank to her knees next to the tub. Sadie looked up at her with big, watery blue eyes but said nothing. She reached her arms out to Ziva, indicating that she wanted to be picked up. Ziva stood up and picked her up, setting her on her hip. Sadie tucked her head into Ziva's shoulder, refusing to look into her eyes.

"Tell me what is wrong, please." Ziva pleaded.

"He's scary." She mumbled into Ziva's shoulder.

"Tony?" Ziva was surprised, Tony was a lot of things but scared wasn't one of the first that popped to mind. Sadie nodded. "Why? Tony is very nice. Chris likes him a lot."

"He is like the bad guy that visited mommy last night. He has a gun like him too." She concluded, obviously set on her logic. "Don't let him hurt me again Ziva." She pleaded.

"_Ahuvi_, Tony is very nice. He is my partner and would never hurt you." Ziva reassured her.

"He is like the bad man." She argued again.

"How about we make a deal?" Upon the nod, Ziva continued, "We go eat, with Tony, but I will not let him get close to you. You will be safe. Is that okay?"

"I guess." Sadie tucked her head back into Ziva's shoulder as they went back to the kitchen. Luckily Tony had taken over dinner or there would have been a mess.

"Everything okay?" He asked as Ziva set Sadie on a bar stool close to where Chris was lounging in his car seat.

"It will be." She said, leaving Sadie and joining Tony at the stove. "She is really scared of you and says you are like the bad man that hurt her last night. So do not touch her or even get close to her." Ziva whispered in his ear. Tony looked shocked and a little hurt but nodded. Turning back to Sadie, Ziva tried to act cheerful.

"What do you like on your noodles?"

"Butter." She said without looking up.

"Alright." Ziva went to the fridge and opened the door, pulling out the butter. Tony finished the noodles and drained them. He got down two large plates, one small one, and forks. Ziva loaded them up with the little bowties and put butter on each heap. Tony poured water because that was the only non-alcoholic drink he had. They set them around a small square table. Ziva picked Sadie up off the stool and took her to the table, setting her in a chair she was too short for.

"I will be right back. I am going to get you a pillow to sit on." She said before running to the living room and snatching a pillow up from the couch. She was back in less than 5 seconds and slid the pillow underneath her, which propped her up nicely. Tony came in with Chris and set his car seat on the floor next to them.

Tony and Ziva sat down awkwardly. He sat across from Sadie so he was as far away from her as the table would allow, with Ziva adjacent to him and Sadie. Tony picked up his fork first and started eat. Ziva followed. Sadie pushed her food around and only ate half of the small serving. When she was done eating, she slid down from her chair. Ziva was about to ask her where she was going when she arrived right next to her. Sadie gingerly placed one hand on Ziva's thigh and the other gripped her arm. She struggled to climb into Ziva's lap until she helped pull the little girl up. Sadie got comfortable and sat on Ziva's small lap sideways on her knees. She leaned into Ziva's chest and nuzzled her head into Ziva's shoulder, closing her eyes contently.

Ziva's eyes were wide, she looked at Tony who was just as surprised. She began rubbing Sadie's back and trying to eat left handed, which went pretty well. Tony stifled laugh when she got a noodle stuck to her cheek. She glared at Tony who grinned back at her. Sadie's breathing evened out and the partners knew she was asleep. They finished dinner and Tony cleaned up the dishes while Ziva sat with Sadie. She noticed Chris wake up and look around. She stood up carefully with Sadie and went into the kitchen.

"Chris is waking up." She whispered. Then she gave him a slight grin, "Diaper change yes?"

"I don't know how." He whined. She gave him a glare. "Seriously, I have never changed a diaper before."

The Chris started crying. "Tony!" she hissed, moving towards Tony's bedroom which was the closest room she could get to that had a door.

Tony ran and got Chris. He could immediately smell the surprise Chris had for him. "Ziva better be coming back." He muttered, while rocking Chris to try and stop the crying. Surprisingly, it worked and he only whimpered every now and then.

Ziva laid Sadie down in the middle of Tony's bed. She smoothed her hair before slipping out the door to help Tony.

"Bring him and the diaper bag over here." She instructed. Tony did what she said and set Chris on the coffee table. He started crying harder again and fidgeting around.

"Diaper Changing 101." said Tony, taking a seat next to Ziva on the couch.

"First you take off the clothes." She said, as she gently un-snapped the onesie. "Get a new diaper and have it ready to switch out with the old one. Undo the flaps on the side, hold his legs and pick up his butt, slide the new one under. Then pull the old one off and he is already in the new one." Ziva performed all of the tasks like a seasoned mother. "Get out the wipes and powder. Hold his legs again and get him all wiped down, then put some baby powder one. That helps with diaper rash. Last, pull the front up and attack the sides, not too tight and not too lose. "

"Easy enough. Do we put his clothes back on?"

"Babies like to be naked. Whenever they are really fussy, lay them on your chest, skin on skin, and they will fall asleep. It almost always works." Tony looked at Ziva for a second, trying to decide if her should ask the question that was on his mind. Eventually, curiosity won over.

"How do you know all of this? Don't tell me it is Mossad training because I know it isn't." he said. To his surprise, her face softened a bit and her eyes went out of focus.

_Ziva was in a nursery with two small babies. It was so hot and she was trying to keep the babies cool but they wouldn't stop crying._

_"Ziva!" called her partner Nadav. She had known him for a little over six months and they were assigned to go undercover in Afghanistan with two babies. Ziva didn't do anything other than act as the obedient wife. Nadav was in the army, trying to infiltrate the underlying terrorist organization that had been bombing Israelis._

_The children weren't theirs; she was not sure where they came from but did not ask. She was 18 and Nadav was 25. The children were 7 months old._

_"Ziva! Get in here." He called again, more demanding. Nadav had started out fine, he was respectful to her and good with the kids, but about two months ago, things turned south. He wouldn't come home for three of four days and when she asked, he said it was nothing. She didn't trust him and almost shot him when he tried to pull something in bed. She stopped sleeping at night and was only able to get 2 or 3 hours during the day. Her energy and strength was draining._

_"ZIVA!" he yelled._

_"What?" she asked, appearing in the doorway of their bedroom._

_"I need to leave for a few days…" he drifted off._

_"Any reason I should know?" she tried, not expecting an answer._

_"No." Typical answer._

_That night, after Nadav left, Ziva packed up a bag and the two kids. She left the house silently with one child on each hip. She went into a nearby village where she knew a nice family lived and laid the children outside the door. She didn't want to leave them, they had become her own in the last six months. With one last look, she left, going back to Israel._

"Zi, hey… Ziva?" asked Tony. She had been spaced out for about 45 seconds. He squeezed her arm and she blinked slowly. "You okay?" he asked once her eyes had focused back on his.

"I am fine." She mumbled, getting up and heading into Tony's room. His question was left unanswered and Tony was more confused. Whatever Ziva had remembered had been something painful. Tony didn't want to push her; he knew he didn't like to be pushed. She would talk to him when she was ready.

**What do you think? Review please, leave any questions/comments/concerns/encouragement!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, so here is the next chapter, got it out pretty fast I think, right? *nudge nugde wink wink* Let me know if you like this chapter or not. I didn't like writeing it as much as the others, lots of close quarters stuff it hard to write. Please let me know if I'm doing okay or if my Beta is missing things so I can get on her. Enjoy!**

Ziva sat quietly on the edge of the bed next to Sadie. She was embarrassed by how she had acted around Tony almost an hour before. Why were all of these memories coming back to her? She knew it had to be the children but it still baffled her that she would be left defenseless when one of these memories came. She looked up at the time and realized that it had been about an hour since Sadie fell asleep.

Ziva gently reached over and stroked some hair out of Sadie's face. "Sadie, it is time to wake up." She cooed. The little girl rolled away from her and mumbled something incoherent. "Sadie." She tried again.

"Hmmmm." Sadie rolled back over and opened her eyes. For a brief moment, they whipped around the room, trying to figure out where she was, and then she saw Ziva and calmed down again.

"Do you feel alright, Tateleh?" She nodded her head. "That is good, you can go back to sleep now."

"Are you going to be here when I wake up?" asked Sadie as she curled up in a comfortable position facing away from Ziva.

"Of course I will, and if I am not in here, I am out there." she said, trying to keep the tone light. She knew that Sadie was wondering if she would disappear like her mom had.

At that moment, Tony popped his head in the door. Ziva had left over an hour ago and he still wasn't sure what had happened. "Ziva?" he asked quietly.

"Just a second Tony." She replied without looking over at him. He quietly closed the door and retreated back to the couch.

"I will be right out there if you need anything at all." Ziva told Sadie as she stood up. "Come get me if you need me." The little girl nodded and Ziva went to the door.

"G'dnight." She mumbled.

"Good night."

Ziva shut the door and went over to the living room. Tony was sitting on one end of the couch watching Chris sleep in his seat.

"What is it Tony?" she asked, her tone was slightly reprimanding. She didn't mean for it to be, but it just came out that way.

He looked taken aback by how harsh she was. He sat up a little straighter and motioned for her to sit down. She did but right once he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off.

"Do not ask me why I spaced out. I will not tell you. And I am fine so do not ask that either." She said, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive gesture.

"Ziva, I wasn't going to ask you that. I just wanted to make sure you were alright, which you said you were so never mind." He said, rambling on a bit longer than he meant too.

"Oh." Ziva was surprised that he was checking on her and that he hadn't questioned her further about what happened earlier. Normally he pushed her on things like that.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" asked Tony, interrupting the silence and giving her a grin. "It's late and will keep us awake."

"Fine. But I am going to finish unbending the kitchen first."

Tony looked at her for a moment, and then he smiled even bigger at her. "It's called 'straightening up'." he laughed.

"Whatever." She scoffed as she stalked out of the living room.

Tony walked over to his vast DVD collection and plucked a few movies off the shelf. They were all comedies from various decades. He figured that would keep the mood light and keep them awake.

He sat down and set the movies on the table, waiting for Ziva to return. Eventually the sink turned off and He could here Ziva's feet pad across the hard wood floor. She sat down on the other end of the couch and looked over at him.

"Which movie? They're all good, so there's no wrong answer." Tony said, spreading them out across the table.

"Hmmm. How is a movie about dodge ball funny?" asked Ziva, wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion.

"You've never seen Dodgeball? That is a crime and if you are going to be an American citizen, you have to watch this movie." He said, hopping off the couch and taking the DVD to the player and starting the movie.

"Did you wake Chris up to check on him yet?"

"Yeah, I did it before I went to get you." Tony said as he sat on the couch again. It was nice to be watching movies with Ziva again. He missed their movie nights that had started and stopped when Gibbs went and then returned from his 'vacation.' Nothing had ever happened but their friendship had grown so strong. He never would have imagined things being so weird between them like they were now.

Then main screen popped up and Tony grabbed the remote, hitting play and tossing it back to the table. Ziva tucked her feet underneath herself and stayed neatly in the corner. Tony turned on his side and tossed his feet up onto the couch, they were just like they used to be. He saw a smile cross Ziva's face when she glanced over at him. It felt good that they were getting back to normal.

About twenty minutes into the movie, Ziva heard the creak of a door open even though she was laughing at the hilarious movie. She looked over towards Tony's room and saw Sadie peeking out.

"Sadie, are you alright?" The little girl shook her head and tears started to form in her eyes.

"Ginger." She said, walking over to Ziva. She didn't even notice Tony.

"Ginger is in the bag, I will get her." Said Ziva, she got off the couch and searched through the diaper bag that was under the coffee table. She pulled out the stuffed dog and handed it to Sadie. The crying stopped as quickly as it had started. Ziva looked over and noticed that Tony had paused the movie for her.

"I can't sleep." said Sadie, rubbing her eyes. Ziva sat back into her corner and glanced at Tony but his eyes were unreadable. Ziva didn't know how to handle this. All of a sudden, she felt Sadie's small hands on her knees. "Can I sit with you?"

"Sure." said Ziva, her voice shaking slightly. Sadie struggled to clamber up onto Ziva's lap. Ziva helped her up and she curled up between Ziva and the arm of the couch, gripping Ginger and Ziva's left arm tightly. They got comfortable together and Ziva gently stroked the girls back with her free hand. She glanced over at Tony and he smiled back at her. Ziva couldn't help but smile. Tony flipped the movie back on and they finished it with minimal interruptions caused by having to check on the children every hour. Sadie was sleep soundly on Ziva's lap and Tony was watching them more than the movie.

When the credits started rolling, Ziva stifled a yawn.

"Are you tired?" asked Tony, walking over to the DVD player to turn off the movie.

"No-" her protest was cut off by another yawn.

"You can take my bed, the guest room one isn't comfortable at all." said Tony, moving back to the couch and holding out his hands to help her up. She gave him one hand and supported Sadie with the other. Tony pulled her up but held onto her hand and dragged her into his room.

"I am not going to take your bed." She said, trying very hard to protest because of how tired she was.

"Yes you are, I already put your bag in here. I'll get you in an hour." He said, leaving the room and shutting the door.

He got Chris and went into the small guest bedroom that was meant to be a study. There was no room for a full sized bed so a small Twin sat tucked in the corner with a bedside table. The dresser was tucked away inside the small closet. Tony set the alarm on his phone and stripped to his looked perfectly content in his seat so Tony left him there in front of the bedside table next to the bed.

Ziva sighed and opened her bag, feeling around for pajamas because it was too dark to see. She stripped in the middle of the room and pulled on her cotton PJs. Sadie was still wearing the PJs she had on earlier. Ziva didn't think they could be that clean; she pulled a spare t-shirt out of her bag.

"Sadie… Wake up, _Ahuvi_." Ziva whispered as she shook the little girl's shoulder. Sadie groaned and curled up in a ball. "Sadie. Do you want to put on clean clothes?" Sadie nodded and opened her eyes. She sat up and yawned.

"What time is it, Ziba?" she mumbled.

"Very early." Ziva realized that Sadie wasn't going to change herself so she pulled Sadie's shirt over her head. Sadie's face was still dirty and she could see the bruises on her skin by the pale moonlight. "Would you like to take a quick bath? You are very dirty."

"No." she said stubbornly.

"Come on, it will not take long." She said, picking up Sadie, who was too tired to put up a fight.

She grabbed her shirt and her bag and went into the bathroom that was connected to the master bedroom but there wasn't a bath tub. She walked out of Tony's room and into the hall bathroom. Luckily it had a tub. Ziva cracked the door open and turned on the water, letting it heat up. It reached a comfortable temperature and she pulled up the plug so it could fill with water. She undressed Sadie the rest of the way and set her in the tub. Ziva got her soap from the bag and set it on the edge of the tub.

Ziva pulled a towel off the hook and laid it by the tub to cushion her knees. She got a wash cloth from under the sink and wet it with the warm water. She shut off the water and started washing off the dirt from Sadie's skin. She squeezed some body soap onto the cloth and gently spread it over her body, being extra careful around the dark bruises. Then she rinsed her off and tilted her head back, wetting her hair, rubbing shampoo into it and rinsing it out. She repeated it with conditioner before draining the tub.

Sadie was almost lulled to sleep by the warm water. Ziva got a fresh towel and wrapped it around the little girl before setting her on the floor. She dried her off and slipped the shirt over her head. Then she turned the underwear inside out and put them back on her just in case she wasn't completely potty trained. It seemed like the right thing to do.

"Okay. It that better?" she asked as she picked up Sadie and went back to Tony's room, leaving everything in the bathroom.

The sleepy girl nodded and was grateful to be set back onto the bed. Ziva pulled the covers over her and went to the other side and got in. She was almost asleep when she felt the bed shift. Her eyes flew open and she instinctively reached for her gun. Then a warm body was pressed up against hers, snuggling into her. Ziva wrapped her arm around Sadie instinctively and tried to keep her body from trembling. She could have hurt the little girl who trusted her so much. This wasn't safe for Sadie.

Ziva laid awake the remaining hour until she heard his footsteps approaching the door. Tony opened it quietly and peeked inside. Ziva and Sadie were curled up together. She was so good with kids. But then he realized how rigid her body was. He opened the door further and went to her side. He got closer and could see her eyes following him.

"Zi, why are you awake?" he whispered, moving to his knees. She turned her head towards him.

"Not tired." She choked out. Her emotions were out of control today.

"Ziva, what's wrong?" he demanded rather than asked. It was the best way to get answers from her and he knew that. She hated that he knew her so well. She turned her head away from him. There was a minute of silence before she felt him touch her shoulder. She flinched away instinctively because her entire body was on high alert. Tony withdrew his hand a bit before returning it to her shoulder. "Ziva."

"I almost fell asleep and then she moved over here and I reached for my gun. What would have happened if it had been here? I could hurt her Tony, I am dangerous."

"You wouldn't hurt her, Ziva. She trusts you so much." He said earnestly.

"That is the problem." She said caustically. "I cannot be trusted."

Tony could tell that the conversation was over. His hand slid off her shoulder and he stood up.

"Ducky sent an email. It says we don't have to wake them every hour because the poison should be out of their systems. See you in the morning." said Tony, leaving the room. He said it without any emotion and Ziva hated to admit it but she felt helpless when he left. She shook her head slightly, trying to get rid of the feeling of weakness. She hated it. It became a reminder of Somalia. Which lead to Saleem. Even thinking his name made bile rise to her throat.

_She heard footsteps echoing on the concrete floor and gingerly got to her feet. Her wrists ached from the ropes that held them together. She would not let those pigs catch her off guard. She wasn't sure how long she had been held prisoner because they kept her in a dark room all the time she wasn't in interrogation. It had to have been at least 4 days. They had not fed her yet and she got a small bowl of water each time she got back to her cell. _

_Two guards entered the room while two more stood at the door. None of them had weapons on them in case she tried to take them like she did the first time they had come to take her to interrogation. They pulled a bag over her head and she walked the route to the room. She knew the way by counting the steps and turns they made; it was always the same route. She heard them open the door and push her inside. They sat her down and roughly tied her to a chair, then pulled the bag off. The guards all left and she was in the room with Saleem. Every time, the session was the same._

"_What is your name and who do you work for?" He asked, as he cleaned his knife in the corner._

_She would stare straight at him and say nothing. _

"_What is you name. Why is NCIS involved?" Saleem stepped forward and dropped his voice._

"_I have nothing to say to you." She replied, her voice completely indifferent._

_Then the beating would start. After a while, pain became normal. She was so used to living in pain that her body became indifferent to his abuse. It still hurt and she had to fight to bite back screams of pain, but it became routine. The sharp knife carved red trails down her skin, electricity coursed through her body, fists flew into her abdomen. It became her new life. She had only been there less than a week and it felt like it had been months. The only relief was to be dragged or forced to crawl back to her cell when the sessions were over. Only when she was completely alone would she allow a few silent tears to fall._

**Ends in a flashback! Angsty! i didn't feel like sending them to the hospital in this night... it as been over 10K words and we are just in the second day... I get a little descriptive. Anyways, as ALWAYS- I LOVe your reviews. My Beta and I look at them during class, it is a great time. Well- Goodnight- for it is late in my time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the MAJOR delay. I have had finals and Chrostmas and all kinds of things to do. My Beta has been yelling at me about it but i ignored her for while. Next chapter should be up before this week is over if i have time to write. Well-the long awaited chapter is here!**

"Ziva?" asked a small voice. Sadie gently poked Ziva's shuddering body. She was shaking and tears were gently slipping from her eyes and traveling down her face. She was mumbling the word 'broken.'

"Ziivahhh? Wake up." said Sadie as she gently ran her small hand up and down Ziva's arm. She immediately shrank back and trembled more.

"Tony… Tony?" she mumbled quietly.

"Ziva wake up!" she yelled as tears started to roll down her face in panic.

Tony hadn't been asleep since he last talked to Ziva. He had no clue how long ago that was or what time it was now. He was lying on the couch because it was more comfortable than the guest room bed; the floor probably was. He heard Sadie yell Ziva's name and froze. What if she had instinctively done something in her sleep? Tony rolled off the couch and went to his room quickly, opening the door. What he saw was very different from what he had expected.

Ziva was cowered on the edge of the bed shaking and Sadie was crying and sitting about a foot away from her. She turned and briefly looked at Tony then back to Ziva.

"Tony… please…" Ziva mumbled again.

Tony walked to her side and kneeled next to her. His hand hovered above her arm.

"Hey Zi, it's alright. It's only a dream. Wake up." He said gently. She didn't respond. Tony gingerly put his hand on her arm and she jerked it back.

"Is-is-is she okay?" asked Sadie.

"Yes, she is having a bad dream." Tony said earnestly, surprised that she was talking to him for the first time.

Sadie seemed to accept the explanation and Tony took a deep breath. He didn't know how to deal with her nightmares. He didn't even know she got them, and it was probably from Somalia.

"Scoot back a little bit Sadie." said Tony. Then he stood up and pushed Ziva gently until she was on her back. She instantly fought back, clawing at him to escape.

"Ziva. Ziva, wake up. It's me, Tony. You're in my house, it's alright." He said loudly. She continued to fight. By now, most of the covers had been thrown off the bed and Sadie was trembling by the wall. Tony wrapped his arms around her and pulled her slim body off the bed. He held her tight to him and she couldn't move much because he had her arms pinned to her side and enough control over her so she couldn't knee him.

"Ziva. Please wake up." He whispered into her hair and kissed her head. Then she stopped trying to escape and he heard her take a few shaky breaths.

"Let me go." She said. Her voice was ice cold and emotionless. "Now."

Tony released her immediately and she turned on her heels and went into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Tony didn't move. He didn't know what happened or what to do now.

"Is she going to come out?" asked a small voice from across the room.

"Yeah." Said Tony, walking over to Sadie and kneeling down.

"When?"

"I don't know."

"I'm scared Tony." She said, her voice growing shaky again. "I want Ziva."

"Ziva's busy, I can help you though. I'm nice, I promise."

She nodded her head and then wrapped her arms around his neck. Tony slowly put his arms around her and lifted her up. She kept her head buried into his chest as he went back into the living room, shutting the door to give Ziva some privacy. Tony flipped on a light and sat down on the couch. He glanced down at Chris, who was still sound asleep. He rubbed Sadie's back and waited patiently. The little girl's breath evened out and Tony knew she was asleep. He stood up and laid her down on the couch next to her brother.

He went back to the door to his room and put his ear up to it, listening for movement. He cautiously opened the door and called Ziva's name but didn't get an answer. The bathroom door was still closed and a dim light crept out from under the door.

Tony stepped up to the door and tentatively raised his fist to knock. He gently tapped the door.

"Ziva, are you okay?" No answer.

"Ziva?" he asked a little louder. Tony knocked again, harder. "Ziva, if you don't make a noise or say something, I'm coming in." he called. There was still no answer.

"Ziva, I'm opening the door." He said, trying to convince himself to do it. _She could be hurt, you have to go in,_ he thought. He put his hand on the doorknob and twisted, surprised to find it was unlocked. He opened the door with his eyes shut and then peaked through his lids. His eyes flew open at what he saw.

Ziva was holding her knees and leaning against the shower, her breathing was still erratic and she was so pale. Tony pushed the door shut and sat down next to her, close but not touching.

"Zi?" She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "What happened?" She shrugged her shoulders but kept her head bowed. "I know that something happened, Ziva, you were trembling and crying and calling me. What happened?"

She turned her head towards him. Her delicate face was tear-streaked and her eyes were red. His Ziva, his stone wall, had crumbled.

"I-I…" she started, but then stopped and shook her head, taking another deep breath. Tony could tell she was trying very hard to keep the tears away.

"Ziva, you can tell me anything. Please." He begged, locking his eyes with hers. She looked away.

"I cannot." She sighed. "Some things are just too awful. I cannot put you through them."

"You have to give me something Ziva. Anything. Does this happen often? What was it?" Tony begged.

"Somalia." She said, turning to look at his face and gauge his expression. His eyes held so much sorrow and pain. His face was portraying all the weakness she felt inside.

"Oh Zi, it's over now." He said, turning his body towards her and wrapping his arms around her. Ziva pushed his arms away and turned towards him, sitting on her knees. Her expression changed from one of pain to anger. Her eyes pierced into his, cutting his soul like a knife.

"That is the problem!" she yelled. "It is not over! I still get nightmares. When I close my eyes and sleep, I see _him_ at least once a week. There is no escape. Yes it may be getting better but it never feels over!" She stopped to gasp for air. "I have to seem fine for you and McGee and Gibbs so I can keep the only thing I do have: my job! Yes, I have fun with the team but then I come home and _he _is there." She stopped and realized that she was crying again. Tony's eyes still held the same pained expression. He wrapped his arms around her again and this time, she didn't pull away. She melted into him, soaking all of the comfort from her best friend.

"Shhh. I'm here Zi. Just let go for once." He said as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. That was all it took. She broke down and cried. The whole time sobs raked through her body, Tony rubbed her back and rocked her. When she finished, she realized that he had pulled her onto his lap. She took a final shuddering breath before starting to rebuild her walls. Ziva looked up and saw Tony's face had tear tracks on them.

"I am sorry." She sighed, hiding her head in his shoulder. It felt so comfortable.

"Me too." He said.

**NCIS**

Tony walked into the bullpen lugging Chris's seat, followed by Ziva with Sadie on her hip. All of them except for Chris looked exhausted but there were no traces of last night's events on their faces. The rest of the morning had been smooth. Tony went to make breakfast while Ziva showered. When she finished, he took his turn while she fed the kids and changed them. Everyone had piled in to the car for a silent ride to NCIS. They were on time - surprisingly - but mostly because Tony and Ziva never really slept.

"Rethinking having children of your own?" asked Gibbs. He was amused by how tired they were. Tony shot him a dirty look and Ziva ignored him.

"They're going to stay with Abby today." He said. It wasn't a question, just an order. Ziva nodded numbly and continued to the elevator. Tony followed and they went down to Abby's lab. Her music was blaring as usual.

"Abby… Abby!" Tony yelled.

"Hey, what did I tell you about… Wow, rough night?" Asked Abby, turning down the music with the remote.

"Uh, yeah. You could say that. These two are staying with you today. Basically, feed them when they are hungry and change diapers when needed." Said Tony, setting the seat next to her.

"Ziva? Are you alright?" asked Abby. Ziva had yet to say anything, which was odd.

"Yes. I am fine." Abby noticed Tony's jaw tighten when she said that but let it go.

Ziva turned away and bounced Sadie awake.

"_Shalom Tateleh_, you are going to stay with Abby today while Tony and I work. She is very nice. Is that okay? You can always call me." Sadie nodded and yawned. "Good. I will try and see you at lunch."

Ziva turned around and handed Sadie over to Abby.

"Later, gators!" called Abby. They had just walked out the doors when Sadie wiggled out of Abby's arms.

"Zivaaaa!" she yelled, running out of the lab. Luckily, the elevator door had not closed yet. Sadie ran to Ziva and wrapped her arms around her legs. Tony held the door and a moment later Abby hobbled out of the lab on her platforms.

Ziva carefully undid the little girl's arms from her legs and kneeled next to her. Sadie threw her arms around Ziva's neck and held her tight. Ziva returned the hug and then pulled back. Before she could speak, Sadie cut in.

"I want to stay with you!" she pouted.

"Sadie, I have to work. Abby is so much fun to hang out with."

"I want you Ziva!"

"_Tateleh, _please. Do not make this hard." begged Ziva. Her emotions were running high because of the previous night and she had not gotten them under control yet.

"But Ziva, I don't want you to go away too." Sadie's voice shattered Ziva's heart. It reminded her of Tali begging her not to leave the Israeli Army.

"I will come back. I promise." said Ziva. She dropped a brief kiss on the top on her head and gently pushed her towards Abby. "I will see you soon." Ziva glanced at Tony, silently telling him that she was ready. He stepped back next to her and they watched Sadie's sad face disappear behind the metal doors.

Ziva released a shaky breath and Tony glanced over at her. She gave him a look that told him to leave her alone. She was relieved that he didn't push the matter. They got to their floor and exited silently, moving to their respective desks and booting up the computers.

"Local LEO's picked up Dylan. He was arrested for trying to rob a gas station. They're bringing him in for questioning." said Gibbs as he strolled into the bullpen with a fresh cup of coffee.

"Where's McGee?" asked Tony.

"Getting more witness statements. He'll be back soon."

Tony and Ziva continued pulling backgrounds from Dylan Moore. He was dishonorably discharged from the army about 5 years ago. That's when he had reverted to his teenage years and stared using again.

"DiNozzo, David. Let's go." said Gibbs, heading towards interrogation. They went into the viewing room while Gibbs started the questioning. They weren't surprised to see a 6 foot white man tatted up everywhere, but he was drunk off his ass.

"Where were you at 0230 the night before last?" asked Gibbs gruffly. There was no foreplay; he was getting straight to the answers.

"Wh-what day was that?" slurred Dylan.

"Friday night, 9 days after you were released from your year in prison." said Gibbs, his voice rising.

"I was at an old friend's house. Why does this matter?"

"Do you know Lieutenant Bethany Moore?"

"Yeah… she is-was my brother's wife."

"She's dead." He deadpans.

"What!" asked Dylan, suddenly becoming more aware. "Chris was killed a year ago! Now Beth?"

"He does seem surprised…" said Ziva.

"Yeah… very." Tony replied.

"Maybe he did not do it." Said Ziva, trying to read her partner's face in the dim lighting.

"We don't have another suspect." said Tony worriedly as he turned back to the interrogation.

Gibbs continued to grill the suspect even though Tony and Ziva could tell he didn't think that Dylan committed the murder. He finished and let Dylan go, but warned him immediately that he needed to 'stay close.' Gibbs entered the viewing room and Tony and Ziva turned to face him.

"It wasn't him, Boss." Tony pointed out.

"Ya' think, DiNozzo?" said Gibbs, smacking the back of Tony's head but not with the usual power. This case had just been opened but it was already exhausting. "Go talk to McGee and figure out if he found anything from the witnesses. We need to find this bastard."

**NCIS**

McGee was sitting at his desk, completely engrossed in a search.

"Probie! What did you find out?" asked Tony as he strode into the bullpen followed by Ziva.

"Umm- a- not many witnesses and none of them had a background but the apartment manager took it really hard. He also said she had a visitor two nights ago so I'm going through security footage but…" he dropped off.

"But what McGee?" asked Tony, moving to stand behind the youngest agent. He still didn't answer so Tony slapped the back of his head. "McSecretive. Spill."

"Oh- I see the visitor and he comes up. Lieutenant Moore doesn't seem happy to see him but lets him in. That was at 2300. Then, at 0200, he leaves and you can see Bethany at the door letting him out. She sees happy now and kisses him goodbye. But that's the thing. She is fine."

"Does anyone else come up?" asked Ziva.

"No. Nothing happens the rest of the night." said McGee, finally tearing his eyes off the footage.

"But she was murdered half an hour later and it wasn't the brother." Tony thought out loud.

"So who was it?" Ziva finished.

"That's a good question." Gibbs cut in as he sat down at his desk. "Do your jobs and figure it out."

"I'll check out Christopher Moore's background." called Tony.

"I got Bethany." said Ziva.

"McGee?" asked Tony. The younger agent had not said anything yet. McGee continued to ignore him. "Do whatever you do."

**What did you think? Grabbing for the tissues I hope! Let me know if you have any story suggestions! The next chapter will dive further into the case to find our killer. I haven't quite fiured it out yet so I'm running full speed ahead without a destination... Please Review even if you are mad that it took so long to update :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Look at me! Cranking out chapters like crazy! My beta tells me they get better each time, I hope y'all think so. I'm in Tennessee right now for Christmas which is fun. They say y'all and ma'am a lot! Every one is so nice in the south! Also, I'm using my brother's computer to update and the keyboard is awful!**** Every other key doesn't take so I have to go back and edit this because the keyboard won't work... Anyways- Enjoy y'all!**

"Ahhh!" yelled Tony as he banged his fist down on the keyboard for at least the third time. "All of these searches are being stonewalled by some other agency."

"Let me see." said Tim. Tony rolled out of the way and watched McGee's fingers fly over the keyboard. "It's the CIA."

Ziva looked up from her computer. "What does the CIA want with a Petty Officer?"

McGee continued to search, trying to find a way around the wall but his efforts were in vain. "They locked Christopher's files down. We won't be able to see them without their permission."

"Or you could do your McGeeky thing and McHoudini your way into the CIA." Tony suggested.

"What was that Agent DiNozzo?" asked Leon Vance from behind the partition.

"Nothing, sir." said Tony as he and McGee moved back to their computers. He could see the smirk on Ziva's face out of the corner of his eye.

"I just got a call from the Director of the CIA saying that one of my teams was searching for information that is not in their security clearance." Vance said, glaring at McGee.

"Sounds like your kind of problem, Vance." said Gibbs as he entered the bullpen. "What do you got?"

"Nothing, boss. CIA is blocking all of our searches on Christopher Moore." said McGee.

Gibbs turned to Vance. "Find out why." He said to them even though it was directed at Vance.

"MTAC." He muttered and the two older men went to the stairs.

"What does he want us to do now?" Ziva asked to no one in particular.

"Eat!" shouted Tony. "Probie, it's your turn for the food run."

"I just did it…"

"Go, McFastfood!" Tony said, cutting him off. McGee complied and put on his coat. Right before he got on the elevator, Ziva caught up to him.

"Make sure you get something for Sadie." She said. He nodded and she returned to her desk.

Once McGee left, Ziva tried to focus on searching for leads but something was nagging at her. Eventually she gave in because she knew that she wasn't going to get any work done. She quietly rose from her desk and crossed the small distance between her and her partner's desk. She quietly sat on the corner next to him and waited for him to acknowledge her. Tony could tell something was bothering her. He had noticed about an hour ago that she wasn't focusing on her work at all.

"What's bothering you?" he asked without turning to her. She stayed silent for a moment and he could tell she was making that face that she makes. The one where she is confused about why he notices her emotions when she hides them so well. "I know you weren't working." Tony said, swirling his chair so he was facing her; his knees brushed her calf.

She looked like she was going to brush it off but then changed her mind. It was so funny that he could read her train of thought by the expressions she made. "Sadie." She said quietly.

"Sadie is fine now, so is Chris." Tony tried to comfort her, not quite sure what she was getting at.

"Their mom and dad are dead, their uncle is not fit to be their guardian and all other relatives are dead." She said.

"Social services can easily find them a good family and keep them together." He said reassuring her again but he knew that is not what she is worried about.

"What do we do when she asks where her mom is?" Ziva finally blurted out, a little louder than she meant to. "When do we tell her?"

"Oh." He started. The point in that speech that had hit him the hardest was when she said 'we'. "Well Zi, we need to tell her soon. We could do it at home tonight." It felt so intimate to be saying 'we' and 'home'.

"I do not want to break her heart." She said, her voice slightly cracking.

"_Junior, I have some bad news for you." said DiNozzo Senior. His eyes were red and Tony knew what was coming next. "Your mother has passed away son. We are going to her funeral on Tuesday so make sure your suit fits."_

_Then he walked out of the room. Tony didn't know what to do. His words didn't seem real but he knew they were the truth. His mom had been sick with cancer and she told him that she loved him and she would miss him every time he left the hospital. _

"I know Zi. It'll be really hard. It's always hard when a child loses their parents. Trust me, I know." He said quietly, sad brown eyes meeting worried green ones. Ziva remembered that Tony had lost his mom when he was little. He noticed the recognition in her eyes. "We just have to make it easier on her than it was on me."

Ziva nodded numbly and opened her mouth to say something when McGee walked in. She jumped off his desk and intercepted the bag of take-out in the middle of the bullpen. She set it on Tony's desk and everyone got their food out of it. Ziva grabbed the extra sandwich for Sadie then set them on her desk.

"I'm going down to Abby's lab." She called on the way to the elevator.

**NCIS**

"Sadie! Calm down. You are being so crazy!" Yelled Abby as she tried to capture the little girl who continued to duck under her arms and dive under a table. "No more Caf Pow for you!" Then Chris started fussing again. Abby hobbled over to his seat and picked him up. "Hey, Chris. You awake again? It's a good thing I don't have any work to do." She said as she laid him down and changed his diaper. Then she got his already heated bottle off of the hot plate and held it to his greedy lips.

Ziva walked into Abby's lab and stopped. Something was off. She pursed her lips and looked around. Abby was feeding Chris and Sadie was nowhere to be seen. But it was the music! Abby wasn't blasting her music that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. It was sweet classical music.

"Abby. How are you? What is down with the music?" Ziva asked when she entered the lab. As soon as Abby looked up, Sadie had magically appeared and attached herself to Ziva.

"ZIIIIVVVAAA!" squealed Sadie as she hugged Ziva's legs then held her arms up to her indicating she wanted to be picked up. Ziva picked up the excited little girl and couldn't help that Sadie's ear to ear grin was contagious. Sadie wrapped her arms around Ziva's neck while Ziva balanced her on her hip holding her tightly.

"Shalom, _Tateleh_. Are you hungry?" Sadie nodded her head so hard Ziva thought it might fall off. "Good. I brought you a sandwich, is that okay?" another nod.

"How is Chris?" Ziva asked, turning to the Goth.

"Very active and needy like a baby! I just changed and fed him again so he will probably go back to sleep for another hour. And to answer your other questions, I am good and classical music is good for little kids." She said proudly.

"That is good, and Ducky said he might be sleepy for a while because of the…incident." said Ziva as she stroked Sadie's light brown hair.

"That's what I figure. I'm going to put Chris back to sleep once he finishes this bottle, but we're all happy as clams."

"How are clams happy?" asked Ziva.

"It is just a saying, never mind."

Ziva shrugged and walked to the elevator with Sadie. "Do you want to go see Tony?"

"Yeah." Sadie answered, and Ziva smiled. She was happy that Sadie liked Tony. They got on the elevator and Ziva was about to push the button when Sadie grabbed her arm.

"Can I push it?" she asked.

"Of course. Push this one." She said, indicating the one that went to the first floor. Ziva leaned down so Sadie could reach the button and let her push it.

They rode up and went into the bullpen. When Ziva walked in, Sadie tucked her head into Ziva's shoulder.

"Hey Tony." said Ziva as she sat down in her chair and tried to resituate Sadie, who wasn't cooperating. She would sit on her knees and keep her arms around Ziva's neck and her head tucked into her shoulder. Ziva started to unwrap the sandwiches.

"Hey Zi, hey Sadie. How is Abby's lab? Does she let you blow things up?" Tony asked. Sadie didn't respond or look at him. He sent a confused look at Ziva who shrugged best she could with the little girl draped around her.

"Do you want your sandwich?" Sadie shook her head. "But you just said you were hungry." She shrugged her shoulders. Then Ziva got worried. "Do you feel okay? You are not sick again yes?" She shook her head again. Ziva shot Tony a look but he only shrugged in response. "_Tateleh_, will you look at me please?" she shook her head.

"I might have to eat your sandwich." called Tony. Ziva saw a small smile cross the little girl's face.

"Mmmm, I will eat it too!" said Ziva.

"Noooo! It's mine!" whined Sadie into Ziva's shoulder.

"What was that?"

"It's mine!" she said again, moving her face to look at Ziva.

"Okay then. Make sure Tony doesn't take it." She warned.

Sadie released Ziva's next and turned to Tony who was grinning at her from his desk.

"It's mine." She pouted.

"No sharing?" asked Tony but Sadie only shook her head.

"Alright, here is your lunch." said Ziva, handing her a four inch sub from Subway with ham and cheese on it. She grabbed it and took a big bite out of it while Ziva did the same thing.

"Yummy?" asked Tony. She nodded, her mouth too full to answer with words. He turned to McGee. "Good job, Probie. She likes her lunch." McGee gave Sadie a smile and she returned it warily. It was clear that she didn't trust many people.

Sadie finished eating first and cuddled back against Ziva who protectively wrapped her arm around her. Tony thought it was cute how close Ziva and Sadie were. Ziva looked so motherly with Sadie. Everything fit just right.

"You guys are like two peas in a pod." said Tony who received a confused look from Ziva and a soft smile from Sadie. "You fit together." He clarified.

Gibbs returned to the bullpen at that time. He glanced at Ziva and Sadie but continued to his desk.

"The Director of the CIA has informed me that Christopher Moore was not a Petty Officer. He was involved in multiple Black Ops missions around the world and he killed many important men. They won't brief me on it unless it's absolutely needed." said Gibbs coldly. He hated it when people messed with his investigation. His agents stared at him blankly. "McGee, we need to talk to Dylan again. Get him in here to see if he knew anything about his brother. DiNozzo, David… Quit playing house and get to work."

"Yes boss." said the trio.

"What were they saying about Daddy?" whispered Sadie. Ziva quickly looked to Tony for help but he had turned back to his computer.

"Nothing, _Tateleh_." She said. "And I better get you back to Abby so I can do some more work." She said, rising from her chair.

"I wanna stay with you." The little girl whined.

"Sadie, you are not allowed to or I would let you." She said as she continued to the elevator.

"Nooooo."

"I will let you press the buttons and once I finish work, we will go home. Sounds good, yes?" Sadie nodded. While they were on the elevator, Sadie yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"You are sleepy?"

"Yeah." She said as she lay her head back onto Ziva's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"You can sleep on Abby's futune." She said.

"What is a futune?"

"A bed…thing." They got off the elevator and Abby saw them immediately. She was bouncing Chris on one hip and a Caf Pow in the other hand.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Abby." She said brightly, and then turned to Chris. "Hi Chris." Ziva brushed his soft hair with her hand and then turned back to Abby.

"Ziva said I could sleep on your futune!" Sadie exclaimed.

"My what? Ohhh. It's a futon." She said through giggles. "Sure thing. There is a blanket on it already."

"That is a dumb word anyways." Ziva ignored Abby voluminous laughs and went into her office where the _futon_ was located.

"Here it is." She said as she set down Sadie. Ziva covered her with the blanket. "I will see you before you know it." She began to walk away before Sadie called her back. "What, _Tateleh_?"

"Will you lay with me for a little while? Please?" She begged.

"Ummm, alright. A little while." She said. Ziva climbed over Sadie so her back was against the back of the futon couch. Sadie curled into her and Ziva's arm automatically reached around her small body to hold her against her so she wouldn't fall off the futon. In about 5 minutes, Sadie's breathing was even and Ziva knew she was asleep. She quietly got up and climbed over Sadie.

"Abby, when she wakes up, make sure she is okay. Sometimes she gets scared when she is alone."

"Of course. Don't worry. We are all fine and dandy down here!"

**NCIS**

"Boss, I can't get ahold of Dylan Moore." said Tim from his desk.

"Go and get him then. If he is avoiding us, he might know something. Take DiNozzo." barked Gibbs.

"On it, boss." Tony said as he joined Tim at the elevator. "I'm driving, Probie." He said when they got to the car.

"Why are you driving? Dylan is my problem." countered Tim.

"I am the Senior Field Agent." He said as he snatched the keys from McGee and got into the driver side. "Now where do I drive to?" Tim rolled his eyes and put the coordinates into the GPS. Dylan's friend's house was only about 15 minutes away so at least it was a short drive.

"So how is it going with Ziva and the kids?" asked McGee tentatively. He knew Tony never talked about his personal life but since this question had to do with work, maybe he could get a straight answer from Tony instead of deflection.

"It is, uh, pretty good. Ziva and I didn't get any sleep last night because of the kids. We had to wake them up every hour or so to make sure they were okay. I'm just… so tired." He said, suppressing another yawn.

"Oh." Tim didn't know what to say. He figured the next thing he said he would regret in the future. "Well, you know I used to baby sit for people when I was in middle school so if you ever need a break or anything, I could - uh - help you out."

"Thanks McGee. That might be really helpful. I don't know if you would be able separate Sadie and Ziva though."

"Maybe I could take care of little Chris for you." he suggested.

"Yeah, I'll let you know. Thanks, Tim." said Tony, giving him a brief smile. The rest of the ride passed in silence. They pulled up to the house and got out of the car. When they got to the front door, the latch was broken like it had been kicked in. The agents drew their guns and Tony looked over at McGee before turning to the door and moving in. he cleared the hallway and McGee came in and went into the living room.

"Ahh, Tony, we have a problem." said McGee as he lowered his gun.

"Wha-" he started before entering the room and lowering his gun. Dylan Moore was lying on the couch with a bullet in his head: execution style. "This is bad." He said as he pulled out his phone and pressed speed dial one.

"Gibbs." answered a cold voice from the other end of the phone. McGee moved off to clear the rest of the house.

"Hey boss. Dylan Moore is dead. Single bullet wound to the head." He said, dropping his voice for no reason.

"I'll call Duck. Start processing the scene."

"Is this in our district?"

"No but we are going to work this anyways since it is connected to our murder. I'll talk to Vance." Tony could hear the cringe in his voice. Gibbs hated talking to Vance. They all did.

"Okay boss." Tony finished the conversation and hung up.

"House is clear Tony." said McGee when he entered the living room again. Tony nodded his head before pulling on some gloves.

"Start processing."

"This isn't in our-"

"Gibb's orders." Tony cut him off.

**NCIS**

The agents finished processing the scene and left the body to Ducky and Palmer. Tony and Ziva went back to NCIS while McGee and Gibbs finished packing away evidence. It was almost 1800 when they got back from the crime scene.

"I bet Sadie is starving. She took a nap after lunch but I do not know how long she slept. Abby has not called me with any problems so I assume they are okay but…" she trailed off. Tony had never seen her so worried about something before. He went to stand behind her desk.

"Zi. They are absolutely fine and we are going to go home soon and then eat and everything will be okay." He said putting his hand on her shoulder. The level of intimacy between them had skyrocketed in the last two days because of this case. It was clear that they needed each other.

Tony's cell phone rang and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket. He put it to his ear not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Very Special Agent DiNozzo speaking."

"Go home. Be back at 0700 tomorrow morning. Tell Ziva and take the kids with you." Gibbs ordered.

"Yes boss." He said as he flipped the phone shut. "Let's go home Ziva."

She nodded and packed up her gear while Tony packed up his. They both flung their bags onto their backs and headed towards Abby's lab.

"What's with the music?" asked Tony when they got off the elevator.

"She said it was good for children." Ziva said with a shrug. Sadie saw Ziva almost immediately and ran to her. This time Ziva bent down and scooped her up into her arms.

"Ziva! Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat!" Sadie yelled.

"What is it?" asked Ziva. Her eyes lit up at the little girl's excitement and a smile graced her features.

"Abby gave me ice cream and let me play with these cool slimy things and Bert!"

"Abby is so nice, yes?" Ziva said turning to the Goth who had an ear to ear smile. Sadie nodded. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah. I'm hungry. What's for dinner?" she asked, hugging Ziva tight.

"I do not know. You will have to ask Tony." She said, shooting her partner a look.

"Tonyyy, what's for dinner?" she whined to Tony.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart." He replied, sending her a huge smile which made Sadie giggle.

"I want pizza!" she squealed.

"We can do that. Pizza is my favorite!"

"We can pick it up on the way home." said Ziva. Abby was grinning like an idiot watching the exchange between the two. She was trying so hard not to 'oooo' and 'ahhh' at their choice of words like 'we' and 'home.' Ziva turned and saw the ridiculous grin on Abby's face and shot her a glare to shut her up.

"Thanks for taking care of them, Abby." said Ziva. Tony retrieved Chris from Abby and tossed him up.

"How's my Little Man doing?" Tony asked Chris. He strapped him into his seat and zipped up his bag.

"You're welcome guys! They are sweet kids!" said Abby. Tony, Ziva, and Sadie waved goodbye to her and headed for the elevator that would take them to the parking lot. Once everyone was strapped in, Ziva called the pizza place and ordered a large half cheese/half pepperoni pizza for them to pick up. She hung up and looked over at Tony who was smiling at her.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded and they headed off to get their dinner and go home.

**Sooooo... How was it? I'm looking forward to writing the next couple of chapters. Shopping for Sadie and Chris... That could be fun and delving further into the case! (O.O) It _will_ be fun. As always, please leave and questions and/or comments below! BTW- WE BROKE 50 REVIEWS! I'M SO EXCITED!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey Everyone! I know I know you must be mad but... I wrote this last year. Haha- get it? I asked my beta to write the bedtime story part becaause she is wonderful and creative but her computer kept breaking so- blame technical errors. Anyways- I finally know where I am going to go with this story!**

The pizza was almost gone by 1930 and everyone was piled up in the living room watching _Finding Nemo_. Tony sat in one corner with his feet up on the coffee table angled towards the middle of the couch. Ziva was laying with her head on the opposite side and her feet in Tony's lap. Sadie was curled up in front of Ziva, her back cuddled to Ziva's chest.

It was a little awkward at first. Sadie was trying to lie next to Ziva while she was trying not to touch Tony. Eventually, her feet bumped him enough that he to pulled them onto his lap.

"You keep kicking me." He said. Ziva just smiled and got comfortable with Sadie. They sat comfortably for half of the movie before Chris woke up. "I got him." said Tony.

Tony took the crying baby to the kitchen and heated up a bottle for him.

"Here yah go." Chris wanted nothing to do with the bottle. Tony lifted him up to smell his diaper but it was clean. "Zi." He said walking back into the living room and standing in front of her, "I don't know what's wrong." Ziva maneuvered herself and Sadie into a sitting position and took Chris. She set him in her lap facing her and felt his forehead with the back of her hand.

"He is not sick…" she said. Sadie poked her brother's tummy and made a pop noise with her mouth. Chris stopped crying and looked at her then went back to screaming.

"Do that again." Said Tony, intrigued by the action, especially if it made the baby quiet.

Sadie did it again and Chris looked at her, then she did it one more time and he laughed.

"Why does that work?" asked Ziva, poking him and making a pop noise.

"I don't know. Mommy always did it when he wouldn't stop crying." She said and then turned her attention back on the movie. Tony and Ziva's eyes met immediately, each one's were wide. Ziva stood up.

"Stay here, _Tateleh_; I am going to the kitchen to talk to Tony." She nodded and Ziva balanced Chris on her hip while making her way to the kitchen following Tony. She leaned against the counter while Tony set his elbows on the island.

"When are we going to tell her." asked Ziva.

"Well, we can do it now or wait until she asks." Tony said curtly.

"I do not know which is best! You tell me!" she said is a harsh whisper. Chris began to fuss again so Ziva bounced him up and down.

"Let's do it now."

"Oh, God. How do we tell her? Do you just say 'your mother was murdered?'"

"I don't know, Ziva!" said Tony in the same strained whisper. "Come on."

They returned to the living room reluctantly. When Ziva peaked over the couch, she found Sadie sound asleep.

"She is sleeping already. We will have to tell her tomorrow."

"Make sure we don't push it back for too long." said Tony warningly.

"I'm going to put her to bed." said Ziva, handing Tony the baby. He nodded before moving back to his seat on the couch only this time stretching out with the baby on his chest. Ziva gently picked up Sadie who automatically wrapper her arms and legs around her. Ziva carried her to Tony's room like the night before and got out her freshly washed PJ's.

"Sadie, it is time for bed. I am going to help you put on your PJ's." Sadie mumbled incoherently and nuzzled her head into Ziva's shoulder. "Wake up, _metuka_." She slowly opened her eyes and stretched them. "Here are your PJs." she repeated, setting Sadie on the bed.

"I don't wanna wear those." She whined.

"What else are you going to wear?" asked Ziva, scrunching her face up in confusion.

"The ones I wore last night."

"Oh, okay." said Ziva, walking over to the piled of her clothes in the corner of Tony's room. She pulled out the shirt and returned to Sadie. Sadie lifted her arms up and Ziva pulled her shirt over her head. The bruises were already starting to look better. She slipped the oversized shirt over Sadie's head and then un-buttoned her jeans and slipped them off.

"Better?" Ziva asked. Sadie nodded sleepily.

"Ziva?"

"Yes, _Tateleh_?" Ziva held her breath and hoped that she wouldn't ask about her mother.

"Can I go to the bathroom? And brush my teeth? And will you brush my hair? My mommy always brushes my hair and she will get mad when she comes back if she knew I didn't brush my teeth." Sadie looked at her with such innocent eyes, before she could think, Ziva nodded. "Okay." said Sadie, hopping off the bed before Ziva could move.

"I am screwing this up." She muttered to herself.

"Ziva. I need help." called Sadie.

"Coming." Ziva heard the toilet flush and walked in the open bathroom door.

"I can't reach the sink." She said. Ziva picked her up so she could reach and waited for her to finish washing.

"I am going to ask Tony if he has spare toothbrushes. Okay?" she asked as she set Sadie down. She nodded so Ziva hurried into the living room.

"Toothbrushes?" she asked Tony.

"Under the sink in the bathroom." She nodded and returned to the bathroom and retrieved a new toothbrush.

"I want a pink one." said Sadie.

"We do not have pink ones." said Ziva after she double checked under his sink.

"I WANT PINK!" she yelled.

"Tateleh, please. I do not have a pink one. Green is pretty though, yes?" Sadie shook her head. "How about this? We will go shopping tomorrow and I will let you pick out a toothbrush but tonight, you must use this one."

"Okay…" she said, giving in.

Ziva wet the toothbrush and put toothpaste on it before handing it to the little girl. She fiercely scrubbed her teeth to a point that Ziva thought they would be bleeding. Finally she finished and handed the slobbery brush back to Ziva who rinsed it and set it on the counter. Sadie tapped her leg and she looked over at her and remembered her mouth was full of toothpaste. Ziva lifted her up and let her rinse out her mouth.

"Now you have to brush my hair." Ziva nodded.

"Go sit on the bed and I will find my brush." Ziva rooted through her bag and eventually found the brush and returned to the bed, standing awkwardly beside it. Sadie patted behind her and Ziva sat crisscross applesauce behind her. Sadie scooted back into her lap. Ziva started brushing her hair as gently as possible until all the tangles were out. She set the brush down beside them on the bed and Sadie leaned back into her chest. Ziva wraps her arms around Sadie and holds her to her chest.

"Ziva, will you tell me a story?" asked Sadie.

"I do not know any stories."

"You make one up then. My mom is really good at it. They always have princesses and everything." Ziva looked into her eyes and knew she couldn't say no. Tony is really good at making up lies, maybe he could tell a story.

"Do you know who tells really, really good stories?" Ziva asked her. Sadie's eyes got big and excited.

"Tell me, tell me!" she said, bouncing and turning around so her knees were digging into Ziva's thighs and her hands were on Ziva's shoulders. Ziva grimaced at Sadie's position before moving her off to the side of her.

"Tony." Said Ziva, giving her a wicked smile.

"Will Tony tell us a story?" she asked excitedly.

"I do not know. Ask him."

"TOOOONNNYYYYY!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. They heard movement in the living room before footsteps grew closer and then the door opened.

"What!" he asked, clearly confused.

"Will you tell us a story? Please!" she begged. His eyes met Ziva's and she smiled at him.

"I don't know…" he started.

"Ziva said you are really good at telling stories!" she begged again.

"Alright. What do you want the story to be about?" he asked, going to the other side of the bed and sitting against the headboard. Ziva lay on her side facing him and propped her head up with her arm. Sadie was reclining against Ziva stomach looking eagerly at Tony.

"Dragons and fairies and princesses!" she yelled bouncing more until Ziva pulled her down so she was imitating her position.

"You must be quiet and not wake up your brother, otherwise Tony will not tell the story." said Ziva. Sadie nodded and calmed down and cuddled into Ziva. Tony couldn't help but smile at them. He couldn't believe how cute they were together. Tony brought out his narrator/story voice and began:

"Okay, um, here it goes. So there's this-"

"No!" Sadie interrupted fiercely. Ziva gave her a look that told her to quiet down again.

"What?" Tony looked bewildered.

"It has to start with _Once upon a time_…" She insisted.

"Okay, okay! Once upon a time there lived the beautiful Princess Sadie. She was the nicest, sweetest, most awesomest princess in the whole wide world. Princess Sadie had everything she ever wanted: twenty pink dresses, six white horses, and lots of sparkly shoes. But there was one thing that Princess Sadie wanted more than _anything _in the world."

"A unicorn?" Sadie guessed.

"Nooooo."

"A gumball machine?"

Tony paused when he heard Chris start crying in the other room. Ziva nodded for him to continue and slid off the bed so go get Chris a bottle. He continued, but pulled back the covers first and Sadie obediently slid underneath. "Nooooo." He continued, still trying to think of what Princess Sadie did want more than _anything_ in the world.

"A dinosaur?"

"Nope. Do you give up?" Sadie pondered for a moment before finally nodding. "Noodles." Ziva snorted in amusement, but Tony just tossed her a playful look and continued. "_All kinds _of noodles! Big noodles, small noodles, red noodles, blue noodles-"

"There's no such thing as blue noodles!" Sadie pointed out defiantly.

Ziva came back with Chris and a bottle. Tony scooted to the middle of the bed and she got on next to him because Sadie was taking up the side she had been on. Their shoulders were touching and Tony noticed Ziva leaned into him ever so slightly when she cradled the baby so he could eat. He bit back a smile. Sadie made a small noise of impatience and he returned his attention to her.

"Who's telling the story, me or you?" Tony playfully scolded, continuing. Sadie pouted and stopped talking, allowing him to continue. Ziva stifled her laugh. "Anyways, she loved all noodles. Princess Sadie ate noodles every day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She even let her royal dog Ginger eat noodles. One day, Princess Sadie met a beautiful queen. Her name was Queen Ziva." Ziva's eyes widened in surprise while Sadie listened, hanging on to Tony's every word. "Queen Ziva saw Princess Sadie and her dog Ginger and decided to take them both to the handsome King Tony's house." Tony paused to look over at his two listeners. They both were listening intently to his story. "But the princess and her dog were hungry, so Queen Ziva and King Tony decided to make them some dinner. Unfortunately, all King Tony could make was noodles. So he made noodles, and Princess Sadie ate them, and they were the most delicious noodles she had ever eaten. Princess Sadie loved the noodles so much that she wanted to _marry them._" Sadie laughed out loud at the idea. Ziva laughed as well, her eyes sparkling. "Princess Sadie was sad when they told her that she couldn't marry the noodles, but then Queen Ziva and King Tony let her eat noodles for the rest of her life!" Sadie's huge smiled but was overcome with an even bigger yawn. Tony decided to continue; he was on a roll, after all. "Princess Sadie decided that she wanted even better noodles, so she, Queen Ziva, and King Tony set out to travel the world, looking for the best noodles ever. They went to Africa, and France, and Spain, and Zimbabwe-" Sadie let out a tired chuckle at the funny-sounding name. "And finally they stopped at the very last place: the North Pole."

"To see Santa Claus?"

"Yep. And Santa let Queen Ziva, King Tony and Princess Sadie right into his house and he made them all noodles to warm them up. It's very cold in the North Pole, you know. Anyways, Princess Sadie loved these noodles even _more _than King Tony's. She begged Queen Ziva to let her stay with Santa and eat noodles forever, but Queen Ziva had to take Princess Sadie home before her bedtime. Santa made sure that she got an extra bag of noodles to give to Ginger the next day, and they left to go back home. On the way, they-" Tony paused in his story when he heard a soft snoring from the little princess. "And I was _just _getting to the good part!"

Ziva chuckled and slid off the bed, followed by Tony. She took the bottle to the kitchen while Tony shut off the lights and readjusted Sadie's covers. Then he sat on the couch and opened up his laptop.

"How old do you think he is? And Sadie?" he asked casually.

"I do not know. I am sure Sadie knows her age but I do not have a hint about him. Why?" She asked as sat right next to Tony to see what he was doing. Chris's eyes fluttered open before shutting again when he returned to sleep.

"I was just curious. I mean- babies have lots of things they need and I think he needs more than just formula. And we don't know how long he is supposed to be sleeping…" he trailed off and focused on his Google search.

"Try 6 to 8 months." She suggested. He typed it in and clicked on the first link. The webpage listed many different topics ranging from sleeping to eating to mobility. Ziva pointed to the mobility link. It said that six month olds should be able to roll over, make noises, turn to sounds, some can sit or even crawl, and they may have teeth.

"Does he have teeth?" Tony asked. Ziva shrugged and gently put a finger in his mouth and pulled his lip back. There were a few teeth that were halfway out.

"Yes a few teeth. He makes noises, he cannot sit up but he might be able to roll." She said. "You do know we can look this up tomorrow right."

"Yeah I know, I was just curious. I think he is six months old. That means he can have start having squashed up fruit and should be playing more with us. He should sleep 14 hours in a day, also should sleep through the night."

"We will talk to Ducky to be sure tomorrow and find his birth certificate. Hopefully we have probable cause to be debriefed on Christopher Moore's life." She said.

"Yeah. Wait- didn't it have a record for Sadie and Chris's births on Bethany's file?"

"No. It was blocked like her husband's."

"Hinky…" said Tony, getting a smile from Ziva.

"Okay. We will find out the kids' ages, and talk to Ducky about what they need tomorrow. After work we are going shopping for things they need and food."

"Ziva, we won't have them forever." Tony said gently.

"I know. I just want them to be comfortable while they are with us." She said. Tony nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan, and on top of that we have to find a killer!" said Tony as he shut down his laptop and put it under the coffee table.

"Are you taking him again tonight?" asked Ziva as she softly rubbed Chris's arm.

"Yup, we are going to room together again. It's the guys and the girls." He said as he stood up and took Chris from Ziva. "He should sleep through the night too."

"I hope." She replied. "If you need me, you know where I am. Good night." Ziva whispered from his door. "And thanks for telling her the story… I'm no good at things like that." She added softly.

"Anytime, Zi." Tony replied. "Night." He called and headed to the uncomfortable guest room/office.

Ziva cuddled back into bed with Sadie. She was so tired that she didn't even bother worrying about Sadie waking her up in the middle of the night and how she would react. Sadie unconsciously snuggled closer and Ziva smiled softly. Children were so sweet and innocent.

Tony put Chris in his seat next to the bed and stripped to his boxers. He laid down on the cheap bed, which creaked in protest to his weight. Tony groaned. He knew his back would hurt tomorrow and he knew Chris needed a proper crib. He knew Ziva and Sadie were becoming way too close. But he didn't know who the kids were or the killer or anything about the victims. Tony rolled over and closed his eyes. He knew so much but at the same time, he knew nothing at all.

**Please please please review so that I know I'm on the write(haha) track. Let me know thoughts/questions/concerns/and allways support. !BYE!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know that it is super short and that I have been MIA for like 6 months but I'm sorry! I will eventually finish this story. I though it would be important for you all to know that I'm not quitting even though Ziva/Cote is leaving! Many fandoms live on even if their OTP end. Lets keep TIVA strong!**

Everyone slept solidly until the alarm in Tony's room sounded at 0600. Ziva groaned and reached for the clock, and then she froze. Someone else was wrapped around her.

"Zivvaaa, turn it off." mumbled Sadie, bringing Ziva up to speed with who was wrapped around her and where she was. She hit the buttons on the clock until it turned off. Ziva tried to get up but Sadie was lying on top of her.

"Sadie, I need to get ready for work." She tried.

"No."

"Please _Tateleh_, I need to go shower and get Tony up. You can help me wake him up, would that be fun?" Sadie nodded her head but didn't move off of her. "Can you get off of me?"

Sadie shook her head. She was very uncooperative when she was tired. Ziva struggled to sit up with the child on her chest. She untangled her legs from the covers and stood up, carefully moving Sadie to her hip. The little girl wrapped her arms around her neck and tucked her head into Ziva's shoulder.

"We are going to go get Tony now okay?" Sadie nodded. Ziva went to the guestroom and slowly opened the door. It was dark and she could hear Tony's snores. Ziva padded over towards the small bed. Sadie squirmed in her arms so she set her down on Tony's chest. She started patting his cheeks and giggling.

Tony grumbled something and covered his face with his hands.

"Tonnyyyy! Time to get up!" she all but yelled. Ziva bit back her own giggles.

"I don't wanna." He whined, which only made Sadie happier.

"Ziva said we have to. You have to go to work."

"Did she now?" he asked, peaking through his hands at her.

"Yes, now get up." She said as she started bouncing up and down on top of him.

Chris started crying because of the rude awakening and Sadie's screeches. Ziva unstrapped him from his car seat and picked him up, bouncing with him as she went to the kitchen to change him and warm up his bottle. Tony slid out of bed with Sadie and put her on his shoulders as he headed towards the kitchen. She was laughing uncontrollably.

"You are a very giggly little girl." Said Tony as he slid her back off of his shoulders and set her down.

Ziva finished changing Chris and checked his bottle. She turned to Tony an stared for a moment.

"What?" He asked before glancing down at himself and blushing. Yes, Tony DiNozzo blushed because he was only wearing boxers.

"Nothing." She said, smiling at his embarrassment. "Can you feed Chris? I'm going to get Sadie some Cheerios, you have those right?"

"Yes to both." He said, taking Chris and the bottle to the couch. Ziva poured cheerios and milk in a bowl and set it on the table for Sadie.

"Come eat your breakfast Sadie." called Ziva. "I'm going to shower, watch them Tony."

"Of course dear." He called back in a mocking tone.

Ziva got in and out of the shower in 5 minutes. She started to dry off when Sadie stormed in.

"Sadie! You need to knock!" said Ziva as she wrapped the towel around herself. Sadie wrapped her arms around Ziva's legs and sobbed. Ziva tucked her towel so it would stay up and bent down to Sadie's level.

"Sadie. _Metuka_, what is the matter?" asked Ziva, taking Sadie's hands and trying to meet her eyes. "Tony?" she called and heard him coming down the hallway. He appeared at the door and paused since his partner was clad in only a towel. "Tony, what happened?" Ziva asked again.

"I don't know. She left the table and ran to you." He said, still standing in the doorway.

"Sadie, talk to me please." begged Ziva. She was now kneeling in front of the little girl, who had her arms wrapped around Ziva's neck and was still sobbing. Ziva stood up with Sadie and followed Tony to the living room. Tony sat down and put Chris back on his lap to continue feeding him. Ziva sat down next to him with Sadie curled up on her lap. Ziva rubbed her back and calmly waited for her to calm down.

"Sadie… can you tell me what is wrong? I can try and make it better." asked Ziva.

"W-w-where is m-my Mommy?" Sadie asked through her tears.

Ziva and Tony looked at each other.

"Well-" they both started. Ziva's eyes started to tear up and she tried to hide them from Sadie, but the little girl noticed.

"I want Mommy!" she yelled, trying to push away from Ziva, but Ziva help her in place.

"Sadie." Tony started again, "Your mommy can't come back sweetheart."

Sadie stared at him with wide eyes.

"But why?" she asked quietly. Sadie's quietness was worse than the screaming.

"Mommy went to heaven." Said Tony softly, resting a hand on her back. Then Sadie sat there silently. She didn't move at all. Ziva hugged her tighter and inhaled a shaky breath, desperately trying to compose herself.

"No." she whispered. "No. No, no, no, no, NO! Not like Daddy!" She screamed and escaped out of Ziva's arms. She ran to Tony's room and slammed the door shut.

Ziva stood up to follow her but Tony grabbed her wrist. She whirled around and had tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Zi, calm down first. You have to be strong, for her." Said Tony gently. Ziva nodded numbly and took a deep breath. She calmly wiped her eyes and Tony could see her pull on a mask. "Better?" he asked.

She shook her head and the mask crumbled instantly. She stood in front of him as a broken woman. She crossed one arm over her stomach and brought the other one to her cover her mouth. Tony set Chris on the couch and stood up. Fresh tears were streaming down her face and her small body was shaking.

"Ziva, it's gonna be okay." He whispered in her ear as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the hug, her hands gripping his t-shirt.

"W-w-why are you t-t-telling me this?" she stuttered in between sobs. "Sadie needs me and I… I cannot pull myself together to help her. She has no one and I'm crying!"

"You are crying for her Ziva, it's okay to be hurting for her." Tony loosened his grip and Ziva released her arms from his back and brought them to his chest. Tony could see so much pain in her eyes. "Go get her." He said, and gently dropped a light kiss onto her forehead. Ziva nodded and turned towards his door, and re-adjusted her towel. She looked back at him over her shoulder and he gave her a reassuring nod. Ziva gently opened the door and walked in.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Not mine because I would not let Cote de Pablo leave… _

_A/N: Anyways, enjoy the next edition to __It Takes Two__! I'll try and update again soon!_

* * *

Ziva couldn't see Sadie, but she knew that the big lump on the bed was probably her. She quietly padded over to the little girl and sat down on the bed, stroking the lump in the covers which turned out to be Sadie's back.

"I know it is sad sweetheart. Please come out." Ziva begged. Surprisingly, Sadie crawled out from under the covers and wrapped her arms around Ziva's neck, sitting in her lap. Ziva could feel the big crocodile tears hitting her shoulder.

Then Sadie uttered the most heartbreaking question that Ziva had no answer for and asked herself many times.

"Why?"

Fresh tears came to Ziva's eyes. "I do not know Sadie. I do not know why bad things happen." She said, rocking the small body that was trembling on her lap.

"Do they happen to everyone?" she asked again.

Ziva couldn't help but laugh a little. She pulled back and looked Sadie in the eyes, tucking her hair behind her ears. "They happen to everyone. That's how life is." Tony softly knocked on the door and Sadie hugged Ziva again, hiding her head. "Come in Tony."

The door swung open and Tony walked in, still in boxers and a t-shirt. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, leaning back against the headboard and rubbing Sadie's back. Ziva sent him a watery smile before more tears streamed down her face. Tony smiled and she knew he was telling her to let him be the strong one. So she did.

Ziva leaned back into Tony's chest, resting her head over his steady heartbeat. His left arm wrapped around her side while his right continued stroking Sadie's back.

"I called Gibbs. We have a couple of hours." He whispered into her ear, his warm breath tickling her neck. Ziva sniffed before relaxing completely and holding Sadie tight. Sadie's sobs were still full blown.

Tony readjusted them, scooting over so they were in the middle of the bed. He basically pulled the two girls on top of him so he could wiggle over. Ziva's wet hair and tears had already turned his grey shirt dark. He didn't understand how she could be so strong for herself in the wake of her own tragedies, but had completely fallen apart for Sadie. _And the woman thought she wouldn't be a good mother._

"Shhhhh. Sadie. It is going to be okay. I promise." whispered Ziva. Sadie nodded.

"I miss her." She whimpered, looking up at Tony and Ziva before letting go of Ziva only to wrap both agents into a hug. Then Sadie uttered words that were far to wise for her own age, almost like she was reciting them out of a book. "Don't cry because they are gone. Smile because they were here." She looked up at them after saying it and tried to smile while more tears came out of her eyes.

"That's right." said Tony, squeezing them both tighter. Anyone walking in on this seen would see a husband and wife, holding their daughter. Tony was propped up against the headboard, legs straight out in front of him with Sadie on his lap, lying her head right below Ziva's. Ziva was on her right side, basically curled into her partner, who had a firm grip around her and Sadie. The three grieving people held each other, sharing their strength as well as their sorrows.

Sadie finally quieted down and lay on Tony, hugging his arm which was wrapped around her. They lay like this for another five minutes before Sadie squirmed and said she had to go to the bathroom. Before either adult could more, she instructed them to stay where they were until she came back. Tony helped her climb off the bed and she went into the master bathroom and shut the door.

Ziva blushed when she realized how intimate the entire situation was. She was lying on Tony's bed, wrapped in his arms, and wearing only a towel. Tony seemed to realize this too, because his grip loosened slightly. Ziva sat up a little and felt the towel start to unwrap since it had come un-tucked and right before it slipped off, she rolled onto her stomach, trying to preserve her modesty, but being on her stomach meant that she was now lying completely on top of Tony, who had slipped down in the bed a little because the headboard was putting a kink in his back. The towel was basically only acting as a blanket on top of her. Time stood still for a moment and their eyes met. Ziva could feel Tony's hands pressed on her back, holding her and the towel in place as she felt his heart beat faster. Her hands were holding onto his biceps.

Then before they could move, Sadie came back out of the bathroom and ran over to them. She hopped up on the bed and sat on top of Ziva like you would a horse. Ziva moved her head so she had her chin on Tony's chest. She couldn't help but laugh. His eyes were squeezed shut and his jaw was locked in place.

"Tony." She said softly. He opened one eye and peered at her which made Ziva laugh. Tony smiled now that he knew she wasn't going to kill him and laughed at their situation. Sadie stared bouncing on Ziva because they were laughing. Tony grabbed her shoulders to stop her.

"How about we don't bounce on Ziva." He said tightly and Ziva muffled another laugh. Then Chris started to cry. "Hey Sadie, go see what is wrong with Chris and I will be right out." Tony helped Sadie off the bed, who almost took the towel with her. Luckily Tony held onto it, which Ziva was grateful for. Once she ran out the door, he let go of her. "How do we want to do this?" he asked carefully.

Ziva gave him a look that could cut diamonds, but he still saw joviality in her eyes. "You mean how do I want to do this?" she said with a sly smile. He nodded. "Just close your eyes and keep your hands to yourself." She watched him tightly close his eyes and raise his hands in surrender.

Ziva chuckled under her breath and rolled off of him and off the bed. She turned away from his and re-wrapped the towel, securing it under her arm.

"Okay. You are in the clear." She said. Tony opened his eyes and grinned at her. "I am going to put clothes on because that – that was awkward."

"Just a little. I'll go get them ready to leave and then shower when you are done." Ziva nodded and headed back to the bathroom.

Tony took a deep breath before getting up to go get the kids. Ziva heard him yell, "Who wants to get their play clothes on!?" and bit back a smile. Maybe things would be okay after all. Like Sadie had said:

_Don't cry because they are gone. Smile because they were here._

* * *

_A/N: Soooo, I don't know how everyone is going to like this chapter- there are lots of emotions and I hope it is okay. It's a short one again until I get the case figured out but things might get wacky so be prepared! REVIEW PLEASE!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: Not mine because I would not let Cote de Pablo leave… _

_A/N: Sorry for the little bit of a wait, but luckily for you, I was in a writing mood today so this is a longer chapter and ends with a bit of a cliff hanger! Anyways, enjoy the next edition to __It Takes Two__! I'll try and update again soon!_

* * *

Tony and Ziva both fell into their desk chairs after finally dropping off a very tired Sadie and Chris at the Labby. Ziva was cradling her head in her hands and Tony hand his head pillowed by his arms on the messy desk. McGee felt for the two agents.

"You guys okay?" he asked timidly, not wanting to upset them.

"No." groaned Ziva, which was weird since she was usually the last person on earth to admit defeat.

"We told Sadie." Tony simply stated, looking up at the younger agent.

"Did she take it okay?" he asked.

"She took it as well as a little girl without parents can take it." Ziva responded quietly. "It was heart-breaking." Tony nodded in agreement.

The agents sat in silence a bit longer until Gibbs breezed into the office. He paused to look at Tony and Ziva before heading to his desk.

"CIA is going to give us information on a need-to-know basis so what do we need to know?" he asked his team.

"Who killed Bethany, Christopher, and Dylan?" Tony said sarcastically. Gibbs ignored his cynicism and looked at McGee.

"We need full backgrounds for Bethany, Christopher, and Dylan. I think that Christopher was working for the CIA too. If we know what he was working on then maybe we will find out why it seems that people are being killed. It's like they're cleaning up loose ends." McGee said.

Gibbs nodded before sipping his coffee again and standing. "McGee, with two, get out of here. We'll have to argue with the CIA and they won't give us anything till tomorrow anyways." A trio of "Yes boss" resounded throughout the bull pen.

Gibbs and McGee headed up to MTAC, but then McGee came running back down to stand in between his colleagues' desks.

"If you guys want, I can take the kids tonight so you can have a break." Ziva smiled gently at him and started to refuse before Tony voiced her concern.

"Sadie probably should stay with us because of what has happened and she is pretty familiar with us."

"What about Chris? I could take him and then you guys could focus on Sadie." Ziva opened her mouth to refuse before thinking it over again.

"Okay McGee. That would be great. We can drop him off at your apartment when we go to the store later." said Ziva, looking more at Tony than McGee.

"That would be fine. I'll call you guys when I get home." He said as he turned to head back upstairs.

"Thanks, McGee." called Tony.

The two agents grabbed their bags that hadn't been touched since they threw them in the corner of their desk areas and then headed to the elevator.

"That was really nice of him." said Ziva, hitting the down button.

"Yeah. Our McGee is a really good guy." Tony said with a smile.

Once they got to the lab, Ziva saw Sadie hard at work on a piece of paper. She walked behind her to look over her shoulder and see what she was doing but Sadie looked up and saw her.

"Ziva!" she squealed excitedly, twisting and throwing her arms up. Ziva automatically reached down and picked her up, setting her on her hip.

"What are you making?" asked Tony from across the room where he and Abby were getting Chris strapped into his seat.

"It's a card for mommy." She said with a smile. Tony and Ziva's faces fell. "Abby says I can tie it to a balloon and send it to her!

"Oh. I think that is a great idea!" exclaimed Ziva. "Is it done?"

"Almost." Sadie squirmed a little, letting Ziva know she wanted down. She sat back in the chair and continued working on the card. She ran back and scribbled intently for a few more minutes before shouting, "I'm done!" She hopped off the chair and ran over to the adults, raising her arms to Ziva again, who, of course, picked her up without a second thought.

"Wow. It's so pretty." complimented Abby.

"Yes it is; your mommy will love it." Tony said.

Sadie looked at Ziva expectantly. "It is wonderful,_tateleh_." she said with a smile. Sadie wrapped her arms around Ziva's neck and hugged her tightly while Ziva stroked her back.

"Alright Abby. We'll get out of your hair." said Tony as he picked up Chris's seat and guided Ziva out with a cautious hand at her back.

* * *

They arrived at home a little after 1300 with everyone ready for lunch. The clouds were looking heavier by the hour and the weatherman predicted snow around 1600.

Once coats and shoes were off, Ziva started making hotdogs for lunch while Tony popped in _Finding Nemo_ again. Ziva finished the hotdogs and put them in buns on plates with potato chips. She set them on the table and went to the living room where she saw Tony lying on his side with Sadie tucked up against him. Ziva smiled at the pair before leaning over the couch to run her hand on Tony's arm.

"Lunch time." She said. Sadie got up slowly, staring at the screen while walking backwards towards the kitchen until Tony paused it.

"Yay!Hotdoggies!" she said, sitting down and eating. Tony took his place as Ziva warmed a bottle and fed Chris while eating her own meal.

After lunch, Sadie laid on the couch, mesmerized by the movie once again. Tony cleaned up the kitchen while Ziva played with Chris for a little while.

Tony's phone started ringing in the other room but his hands with in the sudsy water.

"Zi, can you get that?"

"Sure." she said, walking over to pick it up. Seeing that the caller ID was McGee, she answered.

"Hey, McGee. Are you off yet?"

"_Yeah, heading out now. CIA is sending stuff over tomorrow because I guess they have to go through everything and make sure that they only give us the bare minimum." He said irritably. _

"Oh. At least they are giving us something. We are at Tony's right now."

"_I can come by now and get him. It isn't a problem since it's close to my place."_

"That sounds great McGee. We will see you soon!" she said, hanging up.

"Who was it?" Tony called out from the other room.

"McGee. He is going to swing by to get Chris. I'll get his stuff together." She said,heading into the room Tony had been sleeping in. She sat down on his little bed, which was hard as a rock and tiny. How had he been sleeping on this?

"TONY!" she yelled, slightly angry that he had taken this awful, tiny bed.

"What?" he asked, arriving at the door in seconds, wiping his wet hands on his pants.

"Why are you sleeping on this-this-thing? It is as hard as a stone!"

"Rock, not stone, and I gave you the nice bed. Why are you angry at me?" he asked defensively.

"This can't be good for your back!"

"Where else should I sleep Ziva?" he asked, getting as angry as Ziva because the damn woman was yelling at him for being a gentleman.

"In YOUR BED." She said. Not loud enough to be considered yelling, but the icy tone stung him.

"With you?" he retorted. Ziva must have taken his angry tone as one of disgust because he swore that steam came out of her ears.

"NO. I would sleep in here."

"Why the hell would I do that? It's so uncomfortable. I was trying to be nice!" Now he was mad, trying to keep his tone lower, but Ziva had new ideas.

"I DO NOT NEED YOU TO BE NICE. SLEEP IN YOUR OWN DAMN BED! I CAN TAKE THE FLOOR FOR ALL I CARE!" She yelled, standing up and crossing the room to stand inches from him.

Tony took a step forward, bumping into her but moving them into the room as he shut the door.

"Why is this such a big freaking deal?" he asked, barely controlling himself. His entire body was humming with anger.

"Because you did not even tell me how uncomfortable you were. Now I feel like a horrible person."

"I did the gentlemanly thing. Why is that so bad? I'm fine. But I won't kick you out of my bed!" he yelled.

"Gentleman." She scoffed. Tony's anger flamed and he grabbed her biceps roughly, giving her a shake.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I don't know what I did to upset you so much but I'm sorry!" he said through his teeth.

"You gave me your bed, leaving you with a rock slab and now I feel bad!" She yelled.

"Well DON'T!"

"You could have at least given me a CHOICE instead of making decisions FOR ME!" Ziva tried to jerk out of his grasp but he only squeezed tighter.

"Fine. I'll ask you next time. Happy?" He asked tightly, letting her go.

"No… In fact-" whatever she was about to say was cut off by a timid knock.

"Ziva? Tony?" asked a small and shaky voice.

"Shit." Mumbled Ziva while Tony squeezed his eyes shut and turned around to open the door. Sadie was staring at them wide-eyed and shaking.

"Wh-why are you yelling?" she asked, obviously fighting tears. Their yelling had to have scared her to death.

"We were just having an argument sweetheart." said Tony, dropping to his knees and pulling the little girl into his embrace.

"About what?" she asked into Tony's shirt so it came out slightly muffled.

"Nothing important." said Tony, giving her a squeeze before releasing her.

Then someone knocked on the door and Tony rose to answer it, figuring it was McGee. He swung open the door to find a person in all black, and then he saw nothing. Ziva heard the door open as she stepped back into the room and started stuffing things in the diaper bag. When she still didn't hear anything, she stood up and turned around.

"Tony? McGee?" she called into the ominous silence.

"ZIVA!" yelled Sadie, running as fast as her little legs could take her, terror written all over her face. She all but tackled Ziva with her small body. "He's back." She whispered.

"Who-" the man in all black appeared in front of them and pushed her back into the room before shutting the door and locking it because for whatever reason, Tony's door had a lock on the outside. Ziva managed to maintain her balance before setting Sadie on the bed and telling her to stay there. She smashed open the door like she would a suspects and reached for her gun, only to remember that she took it off and left it in Tony's bedroom when they got home.

All of Ziva's senses were on high alert. She turned towards the front door and saw a shorter person in all black leaving with a gun trained on her head. He was stepping over Tony's still body and then he pulled the door shut. Ziva bolted to her fallen partner.

"Tony. Tony!" she said quickly, patting his cheeks. She felt his pulse thumping steadily and he let out a groan.

"R'youkay?" he slurred, trying to focus his eyes on her.

"Yes. Stay here. I am going after them." She said, running to his bedroom and getting both of their guns. She handed one to Tony on her way out the door. She sprinted down the stairs, since they were faster than the elevator but when she got to the parking lot, it was empty.

"Damn!" she yelled in frustration before jogging back upstairs. Tony had at least closed the door by the time she got back up. She knocked loudly.

"Who is it?" he asked through the door.

"It is me." she said and he opened the door enough for her to slip in. Tony was still in a sitting position but his eyes looked more focused. "Who were they?"

"I have no clue. Did they take something?" Tony mumbled as he squeezed his eyes shut to try and ease his throbbing head.

"I do not know either, I only saw one leave." She said, heading to the bedroom for Sadie. "Sadie, it is me. I am coming in." said Ziva as she turned the doorknob.

"Ziva!" yelled Sadie, running to her and jumping into Ziva's open arms, tears running down her face. "What happened?"

"I do not know." She said, walking around the apartment. Everything looked in place until- "Tony? Where is the baby?" she asked, worry already creeping its way into her tone.

"He was strapped in his seat." said Tony, struggling to stand. Ziva let out a string of some language that he guessed was Hebrew and also profanity. Tony reached her and saw the empty seat.

"Oh, no."

"Where's my brother?" whimpered Sadie into Ziva's shoulder.

"I don't know." She answered, looking devastated. Her eyes met Tony's and he could see the beginning of a breakdown. He stepped closer and then Sadie wrapper her other arms around his neck, pulling him towards her and Ziva so he was almost flush against her back with his head pulled over her shoulder. Tony gave in and wrapped his arms around them both as Ziva took a shuddering breath.

"What is going on?" she whispered into Tony's ear.

"I wish I knew."

* * *

_A/N: Ahhhhhh! Mysterious! What is going on? I wish I knew… Seriously. I really don't. I'm kinda writing this by the seat of my pants. _


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I am not making a profit from this, I don't know how I would but that would be a pretty sweet deal!_

_A/N: This chapter comes after Chapter 10! Can you believe it? BECAUSE IT IS CHAPTER 11! I wrote this in the car on the way from Indiana to Colorado, which is a 22 hour car ride… It could be a stranger chapter and for that – I ask your forgiveness… If not – we have hit a WIN-WIN situation. ENJOY AND R&R!_

* * *

McGee showed up before Tony could call him. The younger agent looked excited until he saw Ziva and Tony's faces when they opened the door. Ziva was cradling Sadie on her hip.

"What happened?" he asked nervously.

"Some people came in and took Chris before we knew what was happening. Tony got knocked out at the door and I was locked in a room. By the time I got out, they were gone." Ziva explained, much calmer than he thought she should be.

"Why didn't you call me?"

"We were about to. Tony is calling Gibbs right now." Tony still had the phone pressed to his ear, listening to Gibbs's instructions. He finally hung up and took a deep breath.

"Gibbs is sending over a team and putting out an Amber Alert. He wants us in a safe house so they can't take Sadie too. Just until we find out what's going on. They're arranging one now and Fornell will be over in about five minutes to take us so grab what you can." Tony rattled off.

Ziva nodded and headed off to Tony's room to gather clothes.

"Do you have a suitcase?" Ziva called a little while later.

"Closet." He yelled back.

Gibbs arrived with multiple crime scene technicians in tow. They immediately got to work dusting for prints and taking pictures. Tony squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will away his headache from being hit.

"Boss, they won't find anything." Tony said quietly. Gibbs merely shrugged carelessly.

"I need a statement from both of you." He said gruffly.

"Ziva and I were in my guest room. Someone knocked on the door and I figured it was McGee. I opened the door and saw a man in all black and then he knocked me out. Ziva woke me up and they were already gone." Gibbs nodded and looked around.

"Okay. Where's Ziva?"

"My room." Tony said, gesturing in the direction of his room before following Gibbs there with McGee close behind.

Ziva had a suitcase on the bed next to where Sadie was sitting quietly and was quickly putting clothing in it. Tony was surprised to notice that she was packing his clothes too.

"Ziva. I need a statement from you." Gibbs said. He noticed Tony went and stood next to her protectively, like she was going to fall apart. Looking more closely into her eyes, he could see that she was fighting to stay in control of her emotions.

"I was with Tony in the guestroom when someone knocked. He went to answer it while I stayed in the room. I heard the door open but then nothing. Sadie came running to me and told me "He's back." And then a man pushed us into the guest room and locked the door. I smashed it open and saw someone leaving and then checked on Tony. I got our weapons from his room and gave him one before running to the parking lot, but they were already gone." She said robotically, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"What are you not telling me? How did someone break into a federal agent's house and steal a child with another agent inside too? And at three in the afternoon?" Gibbs asked suspiciously.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other before Tony spoke up and Ziva dropped her eyes.

"We were fighting." Tony answered. Gibbs was able to hide his shock. He thought they had been playing a little grab-ass in the bedroom.

"About what?" He asked.

"It does not matter. It was very dumb and my fault." said Ziva, still not looking up. Before Gibbs could say something, Tony had already spoken up again.

"It wasn't your fault Ziva. If we were to blame this on someone, it is my fault. I wasn't paying attention when I opened the door. And I shouldn't have gotten angry with you." She opened her mouth to speak again but Fornell walked into the bedroom.

"Jethro." He said curtly.

"Tobias." Gibbs responded in their usual manner.

"Are your agents ready? We need to get moving." He asked, looking at the half-packed suitcase. "Do you think they will call with a ransom?"

"Almost and I'm not sure what is happening. If the CIA would give us our information then we would be fine and maybe not have lost a kid." Gibbs answered for them. He walked out with Fornell and McGee, leaving them to finish packing.

As soon as they left, Ziva laid back onto the bed with a sigh. Sadie automatically moved to lie next to her and set her head on Ziva's arm. Tony sat next to her hip on the opposite side of Sadie and gently laid his hand on her thigh.

"It's not your fault. It's both of ours okay? Everything will be okay." He said quietly.

"I hope you are right." She said, hugging Sadie. "Now, you need to finish packing yourself. I got some jeans and t-shirts from your closet to start."

Tony nodded in thanks and looked into the bag. He hurried around the room getting boxers, socks, and other articles of clothes along with sweatshirts and sweatpants. He went into the bathroom and gathered the toothbrushes, his shaving kit, and Ziva's things that were on the sink. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that she had kind of taken over his space with her things, and he liked that.

"Alright," he said as he tossed in the rest of the things and zipped up the bag. "Let's go."

The three of them walked out of the room, Tony with the suitcase and Ziva with Sadie on her hip.

"We are ready." She said to Gibbs.

"We'll see you soon." He replied.

They followed Fornell out while McGee explained a few things to them and took their phone, giving them new ones that couldn't be traced.

"We'll probably come see you tomorrow once we get the files for the CIA. Be careful." He said before going back inside.

More snow was already starting to fall as they got into the car. Tony threw the suitcase into the trunk. Surprisingly, it wasn't an SUV, but a smaller five seat car. Fornell got into the passenger seat so Tony, Ziva, and Sadie crammed into the back with Sadie in the middle. Fornell looked back at them and smirked.

"Comfy?" he asked as the driver pulled out of the lot. They were squeezed in back, all in their thick winter coats.

"Perfect." Tony answered sharply.

"Good, because we have quite a drive. It is a small place since we didn't have much time but it is secluded and safe. You will have a protective detail the entire time you are there." He said before turning back around.

The snow picked up as both agents stared out the window and it was already getting dark because of the snow clouds. The thick flakes swirled around peacefully. Sadie was leaning on Ziva heavily so she could see out the window too.

"Where are we going?" she asked innocently.

"A new house that will be safe." Ziva answered.

"When is Chris coming back?" she asked.

Ziva bit her lip trying to think of a good answer. "We are trying to find him because the bad men took him."

"Can we go sledding?" the little girl asked excitedly. Tony smiled to himself, the girl was ADD… But then again, most children are.

"No, we will have to stay inside for a while." Ziva said, surprised by the change of topic.

"But why?" she whined.

"Because I do not want anything to happen to you." She said, hugging Sadie tightly to her side.

"Okay." Sadie sighed, content with the conversation for the time being.

Tony sat looking out his window, quietly thinking about what was going to happen. How was anything okay right now? Chris had just been taken, the kids didn't have any parents, and now they had no clue what was going on. Tony closed his eyes and tried to relax. His aching headache was getting worse, probably because his adrenalin had worn off. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer to the safe house.

* * *

_A/N: I hope it is okay, next chapter may have case in it or it will just be Tony, Ziva, and Sadie's evening… Let me know. I can draw out the evening for a couple thousand words. If you want something to happen that isn't Tony and Ziva making out or something like that, let me know. I want them to go sledding but they kind of ended up in protective custody because them fighting in the last chapter was a perfect distraction for the kidnappers to get the drop on them, And DON'T WORRY about Chris, I have a plan! REVIEW PLEASE!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I do not own the character of NCIS. I am a mere low-life who can only write about pre-determined characters. BUT I'M NOT ASHAMED OF IT!_

_A/N: Hope this chapter meets all of your expectations. And to those who told me to make Tiva cannon, I say BE PATIENT! Think about it, one of the reasons we love NCIS is because they aren't cannon. I don't know about you, but I don't like Bones or Castle anymore because now the excitement is gone. So I'm keeping the tension!_

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They arrived at the safe house about thirty minutes after leaving Tony's apartment. It turned out to look like every other stereotypical, action movie safe house. It was back in the woods, secluded, small, and looked like it hadn't been inhabited in 20 years. The wooden paneling appeared to have once been a light pink but it was faded and had green mold creeping up from the overgrown foliage. The roof had plants growing on it but it wasn't caving in, which was a good sign. The poor house didn't even have a gravel driveway, just two divots in the grass where one could tell a car had driven.

"And here I was thinking the FBI had funding." joked Tony, casually throwing a smile at Ziva that was tightly returned.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Fornell said as he openedthe car door and stepped into the deep snow.

The agents followed him up to the porch as their driver pulled out a key to unlock the shiny new deadbolt that was on the door. When the door swung open, it looked like a modern day, small home apartment.

"Wow." said Tony in awe as he walked in to explore, dropping the suitcase inside of the door. Sadie squirmed in Ziva's arms so she let her down to explore with Tony.

"This is very… surprising." Ziva said to no one in particular.

"Yes. The FBI is indeed very well funded, Agent DiNutzo." Said Fornell rather crossly, mispronouncing Tony's name like he usually does.

"My mistake, sir." he replied, not really meaning it.

Inside the door was a cozy family room on the left and a dining room table on the right. The kitchen was open and past the table. The floor was a deep brown wood and all of the furniture was composed of dark browns and reds with accent colors of beige thrown in to lighten the space. The family room had a couch across from a decent-sized flat screen TV. A chair sat off centered by the window that looked out onto the porch. A coffee table was in the middle of the space. The kitchen had all modern, stainless-steel appliances with granite countertops. There was a hallway off to the left between the table and the kitchen that contained a half-bathroom on one side and a bedroom on the other side. There was a queen sized bed in the middle of the bedroom with a bedside table on each side and an attached full bath with a shower, but no bathtub. The bedroom had the same dark wood with a beige bedspread that had dark brown designs on it. Overall, it was a very tasteful house.

When Tony returned with Sadie, the other agents had left the house, leaving only Fornell and Ziva. Fornell was comfortably reclined in the chair while Ziva sat stiffly on one side of the couch. Sadie tried to climb onto Ziva's lap but a raised eyebrow from Fornell made her carefully maneuver the little girl onto the couch beside her instead. None the less, Sadie leaned completely on Ziva and hugged her arm. Tony noticed but didn't comment; he could tell his partner was wound tight as a spring. He sat heavily on the other side of the couch, angling his body towards his partner and crossing his legs.

"I am sure you know the protocol that comes with being in a safe house." said Fornell, raising an eyebrow.

"No contact with outsiders, stay inside, lock doors, don't make a lot of noise, blah blahblah." said Tony, answering the rhetorical question.

"Exactly. Gibbs told me he and McGee would be coming over tomorrow. My agents are outside; tell them if anything suspicious happens with this." He said, handing Tony another phone. "I will see you tomorrow then, and watch the weather, there is a winter storm moving in." Fornell stood up and left the house, locking the door behind him.

Tony, Ziva, and Sadie sat in silence while they listened to a car door slam and an engine start. It was that awkward "I'm going to twiddle my thumbs" kind of silence. Sadie, of course, was the first one to interrupt.

"I'm bored." She pouted. Then she stood up on the couch and plopped down on Ziva.

"Oww!" she yelped when Sadie's bony butt hit her thigh.

"Hey, don't do that. You hurt Ziva." said Tony sternly, sitting up.

"Sorry." she said guiltily with her head down.

"It is alright." said Ziva softly, stroking her back. "So! What is it that you want to do?"

" Umm Ummmmmmm… And we have to stay inside?" she clarified. Ziva nodded. "Can we build a fort?" She asked excitedly, changing position so she was on her knees, which was not more comfortable for Ziva.

"A fort?" said Ziva, confused and trying to prevent the squirmy girl's appendages from poking her too hard.

"You mean a blanket fort?" asked Tony. Sadie nodded furiously. "Okay. Let's move this coffee table out of the way then. We have to be able to see the TV so we can watch a movie tonight in our fort." He said, jumping up and grabbing Sadie under her arms to pull her off of Ziva. "Can you go get the pillows off the bed?" he asked her, setting her down.

"Yeah!" she yelled, running off to the bedroom.

"What is a blanket fort?" asked Ziva, holding out an arm for Tony to help her up. He reached down to help her before explaining.

"It is a little fort made out of blankets." He said with a smile, dropping her small hand and motioning for her to help him move the coffee table out of the way. Sadie came running back with two plush pillows that where almost as tall as her and dropping them on the floor where the table used to be.

"Well Princess Sadie, we need blankets to make our walls." Said Tony as he picked her up and placed her over his shoulder before heading to the bedroom.

"Ziva!" she squealed excitedly, trying to grab onto Ziva but only managing to grab her shirt. She held on tight so Ziva found herself being dragged into the bedroom, laughing at the entire situation and Sadie's happy squeals. They stopped in front of the bed and Tony flipped Sadie off of his shoulder and onto the bed. He was unaware of Ziva being towed behind them until she was hitting his back because Sadie had managed to pull Ziva off balance when Tony flipped her onto the bed. Ziva smashed into Tony's back, sending them onto the bed, landing on either side of Sadie.

"Let's do that again!" she managed to say once her giggles had died down.

"We have to make the fort. Come on, get up. Let's take the sheets off the bed." He said, sitting up and tickling Sadie's tummy. "Ziva, can you look for more blankets in a closet?"

"Yes, I bet there are some in here." She said, moving to a closet that had another set of sheets and some blankets in it.

Tony stripped the bed and Sadie claimed that the comforter would go on the floor to lie on. They carried the blankets out and laid the comforter on the ground.

"Now what?" asked Ziva, dropping the last armload of blankets on the ground.

"We set up the fort!" said Sadie as she started to help Tony tuck a blanket into the back of the couch. Ziva checked the clock on the microwave and saw that it was 17:30.

"I think I should go make dinner." said Ziva.

"NOOOOO! You have to help." Sadie whined, sticking out her bottom lip and hugging Ziva's leg.

"You want to eat, yes?" asked Ziva, bending down to meet her eyes. She nodded. "Okay. Then you and Tony can build the fort while I cook."

"Can we eat in the fort?" she asked, getting excited again.

"Maybe." Ziva said, standing up and smiling at Tony. It was a "good luck" smile that he returned with a smirk.

Ziva went into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, which only had bread, cheese, random condiments, and milk. She sighed and opened the fridge which had a frozen pizza.

"Hey, Tony. I found where the FBI slacked." She called. She heard his footsteps as he walked into the kitchen and looked over her shoulder, standing just close enough to her back that she could feel his body heat.

"Well it looks like we can have some gourmet frozen pizza." He said, his hot breath fanned across her ear.

Ziva nodded lamely, not trusting herself to talk. She stepped forward to get a pizza and also to get away from Tony. When she turned back, he was leaning against the counter grinning at her like an idiot. Ziva knew he was messing with her on purpose.

"I will shoot you." She whispered. He pushed off of the counter and walked away, swaying his hips like a girl to make her chuckle, which she did. He spun around and glared, feigning hurt feelings.

"Agent David. Are you laughing at me?" He asked, his voice accusing but his eyes sparkled with mirth.

Before she could answer, Sadie yelled for him to help her. Ziva turned to preheat the oven and heard him sarcastically sigh "Coming, Princess Sadie." There really wasn't very much for her to do as far as dinner was concerned. She joined Tony, helping him carry the chairs from the dinner table to put on the sides of the fort. They draped blankets everywhere. Ziva went and put the pizza in and came back to have Sadie drag her though the deemed entrance that was between two chairs on one side of the fort. She had to crawl on her hands and knees to get inside but once she was inside, it was really cool. The blankets draped inches above her head and it was dark, but she could still see. They made sure that the TV could be seen when Tony lifted a blanket that was on the side facing it.

The timer buzzed so Ziva climbed out and went to the kitchen to pull the pizza out and set it on the burners. She searched the cabinets until she found plates and glasses. She cut the pizza with a knife and poured Sadie milk and water for Tony and herself.

"Dinner." She called. Tony and Sadie showed up behind her almost immediately. Tony grabbed two big pieces and his water before standing in the middle of the kitchen while Ziva got Sadie a smaller piece and then served herself.

"Where do we eat? I don't think we can eat in the fort." He said.

"We could sit on the floor by the table." she said, walking out and sitting on the ground, leaning back against the wall. Sadie followed and sat next to Ziva and Tony sat next to her. Sadie vacuumed her food up and refused more. Instead she crawled onto Ziva's lap and sat there while Ziva finished eating.

"Come on!" she said, getting exasperated that the adults were taking so long to eat.

"Okay." said Tony, taking his last bite and standing up. Ziva finished too and Tony helped her up again, placing his hand at the small of her back to lead them into the kitchen. Ziva quickly put the plates into the dishwasher and the rest of the pizza in the fridge before being physically dragged to the fort by Sadie.

"Wait." she said before Sadie crawled in. "We should put on our PJs first and brush our teeth because you will be too tired after the movie."

"Noooo." Sadie whined, trying to pull her hand from Ziva to escape into the fort.

"Come on." she said, picking up the angry toddler.

"I don't wanna!" wailed Sadie, the tears coming out of nowhere. Ziva ignored her and walked to the bedroom with Tony following, an amused grin on his face.

Sadie started kicking her feet and hitting Ziva's legs with her heels. "Nooo!" she wailed.

"Stop kicking me. That hurts." Ziva said, trying to grab her feet with one hand.

"Do you want to play in your fort?" asked Tony. Ziva turned around and Sadie reached for Tony who took her.

"Yes." she said, tears stopping immediately.

"Then we have to put on PJs and brush our teeth." he said firmly, walking past Ziva into the bedroom. "Hey Zi, where is the suitcase?"

Ziva jogged to the door and picked up the bag before jogging back. Tony was swaying Sadie, who started sobbing again. She set the bag down and pulled out Sadie's purple PJs.

"Here you go, Sadie." She said, walking to them and holding the clothes where she could see them. Sadie turned her head into Tony's neck.

"I don't wanna wear those." she said.

"You have to put them on to play in the fort." Tony reminded her.

"I want the other ones!" she said angrily. Ziva nodded and went back to the suitcase to grab her sleep shirt.

"This one?" she asked, showing Sadie. The little girl nodded. Tony set her down and the kneeled next to her to pull off her shirt and pants. Ziva tossed him the light blue shirt which he pulled over her head. Then he picked her up again and walked over to Ziva.

"Toothbrush?" He asked. Ziva dug through the bag and pulled out all three brushes and the toothpaste. Tony took them to the bathroom and tried to set Sadie down but she wouldn't let go of him. "It's time to brush your teeth and then we can play in the fort. All you have to do it brush them."

"Fine." she huffed. Tony put toothpaste on the brush and then helped her up so she could spit into the sink.

"There we go. All done." he said. Sadie took off out of the bedroom, grabbing Ginger from the suitcase on her way out. "Wow. Children are exhausting." He said, collapsing face first onto the bed.

"Yeah." She said, sitting down on the bed.

"Whedidwetkedaheats off da ed?" mumbled Tony into the bed.

"What?"

He turned his head so his words wouldn't be muffled by the mattress. "Why did we take the sheets off the bed?"

"Oh. I do not know. You did it." She replied, digging around in the bag and sighing.

"What?" he asked, concerned by her heavy sigh. Her face tinged red before she answered.

"I, um, I have nothing to sleep in." A grin spread across Tony's face. "Most of my clothes were in the washing machine and then Sadie took my only other comfy shirt." She looked up at him, trying to hide her embarrassment. Tony started laughing. "What?" she asked defensively.

"You are acting like it is the end of the world." He said, before sitting up and looking in the suitcase. "Here." He pulled out a navy blue t-shirt and tossed it at her.

"Thanks." she said. Ziva got the bathroom things that Tony had grabbed for her and a pair of shorts and went into the bathroom. Tony changed into a T-shirt and took his pants off, leaving on his boxers and heading to the living room to look for a movie on TV to watch.

Ziva took off her clothesand pulled on Tony's shirt. It smelled like him. Well, like his laundry detergent and his house. This was silly, they were partners, and friends… best friends. She glanced out the bathroom window and saw that the snow was still falling fast. She was starting to doubt Gibbs' ability to get to them tomorrow if the snow didn't let up. They would have to snowshoe out here.

Ziva turned back to the sink and screamed. Tony dropped the remote on the floor and ran to the bedroom as fast as he could, opening the bathroom door without even knocking. Ziva was standing with her back against the shower door in – just his shirt as far as he could tell.

"What?" he asked, out of breath from the dash to her. She only pointed to the sink. Tony looked and jumped about a foot. "Holy shit! I mean shoot!" he yelled, feeling Sadie grab his leg.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Just some spiders, go back to your forts and play with Ginger, we're coming." Tony said. Sadie listened and left.

In the sink were at least 20 big black spiders crawling all over each other. Tony gingerly turned the water on full blast and eventually the spiders went down the drain. He shut the drain just in case.

"Thanks." Ziva said, relaxing a little and peering into the sink from her position at the shower to make sure the spiders were gone.

"The ninja doesn't like spiders?" asked Tony, playfully raising an eyebrow at her.

"No, I just do not appreciate _thatmany_ spiders." She said, walking back towards him. Then she remembered that she was only wearing Tony's shirt and her panties and blushed. Her fingers immediately went to the hem of the shirt and pulled it down more to try and cover her legs a little. Tony only smiled and went back to the TV.

Ziva pulled on her shorts, which could barely be seen under the shirt. She tucked in the front of the shirt a little so the pants could be seen. Maybe it would give the illusion that they weren't really that short. She washed the makeup off her face and brushed her teeth before re-plugging the sink and heading to the living room. She smelled popcorn and saw Tony standing in the kitchen. Sadie was nowhere in sight but Ziva figured she was in the fort.

"What movie are we watching?" She asked, sauntering into the kitchen to stand next to Tony. It was almost 1900 so hopefully Sadie would start tiring out. Ziva knew she was tired because of the events that had taken place that day; she figured Tony felt the same way.

"I found something called _Tangled_. Sadie requested popcorn so after it's done, we're ready to go." He said. The popping increased for a little while and then started to die down so Tony pulled it out and shook the bag. Ziva got down a big plastic bowl that he poured the popcorn into and then they turned off the kitchen light and went to the family room.

"Princess Sadie." began Tony in a dramatic voice, "We have the popcorn. May we please have entrance into your castle?" She parted the blankets with a huge smile on her face.

"You may." She said, crawling out and standing up so they could go in first.

Tony kneeled down and pushed the popcorn before following it. He almost had to army crawl inside. Ziva went next, slipping in next to him. Sadie came in after them.

"Please make yourselves at home in my castle. We will be watching a movie shortly." She said in her best royal voice.

"Yes, Princess Sadie." said Tony, moving back to recline against the couch, setting the popcorn on his left side. Ziva followed and mimicked his position about a foot to his right side because that was about all the space they had.

"Movie time." She said, clapping her hands twice. Tony pulled the remote out and hit play. Sadie turned towards them and frowned. "Where is my royal chair?"

"Ummm." Tony pulled a pillow from the couch and set it on the floor between them. "Right here Madam."

She shook her head unhappily.

"What is you royal chair?" asked Ziva.

"You and Tony!" she said.

"You want to sit on both of us?" clarified Ziva. Sadie nodded.

"I don't know if that is a good idea." said Tony. It was very tempting not to run his hands through Ziva's hair when he was in the same room, not pressed next to.

"Pleaseeeeee!" she whined, drawing out the word to make a point. Ziva looked at Tony and shrugged.

"Alright." He said, moving the pillow and scooting closer to Ziva as she did the same. They stopped when they weren't quite touching, arms awkwardly by their sides, but close enough to feel the heat of each other's bodies. Sadie happily sat down, or more like jumped, onto their laps. She pulled both Tony and Ziva's outside hands over her stomach, hugging her like Ziva would do if she was holding her alone. Both agents tensed when their arms were laid against each other but then relaxed once Sadie laid her head against Tony's chest.

"How do I eat my popcorn?" asked Tony, pulling his arm out from between him and Ziva, and laying it behind her on the couch so his arm wasn't being crushed. Sadie fell back into the hole he created.

"My throne is cracked." She screeched, turning around and accidentally throwing a knee into Tony's crotch. He pushed Sadie onto Ziva and leaned forward, bringing his knees up.

"Mmmhhhh." He whined.

"You alright?" asked Ziva, her other hand resting on his back automatically.

"She kneed me." He grunted.

"Ohhh." chuckled Ziva. "Is everything going to be okay?" She asked, laughing more.

"No. I think it's broken." He said sarcastically, raising his head and glare at her for laughing at his pain.

"Do I need to kiss it and make it better?" Asked Sadie innocently, concerned for hurting Tony. Ziva snorted and laughed harder.

"No, but I think _Ziva_ should kiss it." He said mischievously.

"Not going to happen. Ever." She said, still laughing.

"Ziva! It would make his boo-boo go away!" said Sadie, angry at Ziva's insensitivity to Tony's very special injury.

"Yeah."Tony agreed, trying to be serious, but cracking a smile at her eventually.

"I think he will be okay." said Ziva, giving Tony a warning look to not push it any farther or things could get weird.

"Yeah, I will be okay." Tony said, giving in.

"Okay, well, you still have to be my throne." Sadie said, working with the compromise.

Tony sighed and scooted over so he was pressed against Ziva's side. His arm was still thrown behind her on the couch Sadie turned around and settled herself equally on them again. Ziva's arm ended up around Sadie's waist, but was also pressed against Tony's stomach.

Sadie didn't grab for their arms again because she was quickly mesmerized by the movie. Tony grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth then looked at Ziva with his cheeks looking like chipmunks. Ziva frowned at him and opened her mouth. Tony took another handful and shoved it all into her mouth, brushing his finger across her lips and cheek when he pulled away, smiling sweetly at her. As soon as he turned his head back to the movie, she blew all of the popcorn back at his head. Some of the pieces hit his face but most of them rained down on Sadie.

"HEY!" Sadie yelled, turning to look at Tony who was staring at Ziva.

"Why are you looking at me? She has the popcorn!" He said defensively, trying to keep from laughing. Tony's eyes had yet to leave hers. His face was pouting but she could tell he was trying to keep from laughing because his green eyes were light and joyful.

"Behave." admonished Sadie, taking the bowl of popcorn and setting it on her lap.

Tony mouthed "behave" in a mocking way, causing Ziva to laugh. Sadie immediately pegged her with her glare, causing Ziva to laugh harder. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to muffle her laughter. Tony gave her one last glare before relaxing into the couch more and popping some more popcorn in his mouth. Ziva calmed down and did the same, relaxing and watching the movie. She tentatively leaned her head on his shoulder and his arm came down from the couch to rest on her shoulders, gently giving her permission and resting his head against hers. She relaxed into him and continued to watch the movie and try to ignore Tony's scent that was surrounding her. He was struggling with the same problem, basically inhaling Ziva's mango shampoo because she had pulled her hair out of the pony tail a while ago. It was cascading over his shoulder and just smelled so good.

* * *

The movie was really good. Normally Tony hated children's movies but this one was good, and it didn't just have to do with his partner pressed up against him. That would make even a dinner with his dad enjoyable. Sadie had fallen asleep about 10 minutes before the movie ended. He had noticed her eyes trying to shut but then she would snap them open again. She eventually gave in. Ziva was still awake though, softly rubbing Sadie's leg with her head still comfortably on Tony's shoulder. He turned off the TV, covering the room in a comfortable darkness. The remote joined the empty popcorn bowl, which had been discarded off to the side about halfway through the movie. They sat in silence for a little while, enjoying each other's company and thinking to themselves about how much had changed in just the past couple of days.

"Zi?" Tony whispered, not moving his head from hers, but just talking to the darkness.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think he is okay? I mean, we haven't heard anything about a ransom, and they only took him."

"I – I hope so." She said, her voice slightly breaking. "It's all my fault." She whispered quietly. Tony picked up his head to look at her face. He could barely make out wet sparkle of her eyes from unshed tears. He squeezed her closer to him with her arm and began to rub his hand up and down it gently.

"How is it your fault? You didn't have your weapon and you had to protect Sadie. I'm the one who let them in the door. It's –"

"If I would not –" she started, speaking too loud and causing Sadie to shift a little in her sleep. "If I would not have started that stupid fight then –"

"It was a stupid fight." Tony said, interrupting her interruption. He heard her sniff again and release a shaky breath.

"You are not helping." she said, trying to make a joke but it fell flat. Tony sighed and laid his head back on hers.

"I know. I just don't know what to say. I mean, we basically moved in together and became parents like 4 days ago to kids we don't even know. Then had to deal with them being poisoned and losing their only other relative, and now one of them has been taken right under our noses. And I just –"

"Shhh." muttered Ziva, raising her arm to calm his hand that was tracing an endless path up and down her arm. She twined their hands together and pressed her head closer to his neck.

"I couldn't even protect them for a week without something happening." he whispered into her hair. She squeezed his hand tighter and heard him inhale a shaky breath. She knew he was crying too.

Ziva chuckled a little before lifting her head to look at Tony. "Look at us. We can't do anything can we?" she said, a sad smile on her face. He laughed softly.

"I guess not." he said, holding her tightly, accidentally bumping Sadie. She yawned and stretched, opening her eyes and looking around before seeing their faces.

"Why are you guys crying?" she asked sleepily, poking Tony's wet cheek.

"We were just talking." he answered.

"Sad talking?" Tony nodded. "Don't be sad." She said, gently turning around so she was on her knees sitting sideways across their laps. "My mommy would give me a kiss when I was sad and it made me feel better." She said before giving Tony a sloppy kiss on the cheek and then Ziva one too.

"Thank you." said Ziva, fresh tears running down her face.

"Ziva?" she asked, looking intently into her eyes.

"Yes _tateleh_?"

"I miss my brother." she said quietly.

"I know, I know. I miss him too. So does Tony." She said, trying to keep from sobbing.

"Is he going to go with mommy and daddy?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes. Ziva opened her mouth to answer before laying her head back on Tony's shoulder, silently asking him to answer.

"I hope not. We are working really hard to find him." said Tony, wrapping an arm around her small body.

"But you don't know?" She asked, looking at Tony now. He simply shook his head. Her poor little face crumbled and she started sobbing. "I want him back! Everyone leaves me!" she yelled, pounding her fist against Tony's chest in anger.

"We won't leave you." Ziva choked out. She sat up and hugged the little girl with both arms. Sadie willingly hugged her back. Tony wrapped both of them with his arms and gently rocked them. He rubbed Ziva's back softly and buried his face into her wild hair.

It took a while, but everyone calmed down and simply enjoyed each other's embrace, absorbing the strength given while letting others take the burdens that they couldn't handle at the moment. It was give and take.

Sadie yawned and nuzzled her head into Ziva's shoulder.

"Tired?" She asked. The little girl only nodded. "Okay." she said, moving to stand up.

Tony held her down. "We don't have any covers on the bed." He said, lying down and grabbing a pillow from the couch to lay his head on.

Ziva let go of Sadie, who crawled over to Tony and snuggled into his side. Ziva got another pillow and set it down a few feet away to sleep.

"Ziiiva." whined Sadie, blindly reaching out for her. She found Ziva's hand and held onto it, pulling her closer.

"Okay. I'm coming." she said, moving the pillow over and lying down within reach of the little girl. That apparently didn't satisfy Sadie, who continued to pull on Ziva's arm until she was flush against her back with her arm now draped over Sadie and hugging Tony's waist. She was stiff as a board, her hand on fire where it was touching her partner.

Tony felt the tension and wrapped his arm around her body, circling her back and his hand lying on her hip. He softly stroked his fingers over her hip to calm her down and she let her head drop onto his arm, snuggling closer to them. His other hand came to rest on top of her arm over Sadie's back. Ziva smiled and sighed contently, relaxing for a peaceful and dreamless sleep.

"Goodnight." mumbled Sadie.

"Night." said Tony and Ziva in unison.

"I love you guys." She said quietly, leaving Tony and Ziva stiff again with rapidly beating hearts.

"Night." Ziva whispered.

"It'll be okay." said Tony quietly, rubbing his hand all the way up her waist and back. Ziva nodded, too tired to question the overused phrase.

They drifted off to sleep in their own little world. Sadie's imaginary castle. Tomorrow would bring a new day, and with that, new struggles. The difference would be that now, they knew they had each other.

* * *

_A/N: So, did it meet your expectations? I made it longer. I really hope it isn't boring. I have lots of ideas but right now, the scenario isn't right yet. They are in shock but the end of this chapter brought them together so now Tony and Ziva might be able to lean on each other more and Sadie now trusts them. As long as they stay together, things will be okay. The world around them may be shattering, but they have each other. Cheesy, right? Well it's true. But we are still in the friendzone! I plane to torture you a while longer __Don't hate me (because I'm beautiful). Sorry, couldn't help it. Alright. Review please! I love them!_**AND THANKS TO MY BEAUTIFUL, WITTY, AND INTELLIGENT BETA POCKETROCKET FOR REVIEWING OVER 5000 WORDS FOR ME. SHE IS SO AWSOME AND FUNNY AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED  
ON THAT GORGEOUS FACE OF HERS. Okay, I'm done :)** _My beta wrote that when she edited along with many other wonderful commentaries that I took out for your sake. You should thank me. But she is awesome!_


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